X4: The Revolution
by storytellergirl
Summary: For every battle there is a side, for every side there is another. As the smoke clears a new dawn rises, this one just as deadly as the last...and only one side can prevail.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer – **_**of the following all that belongs to me is the plot, the characters and most everything else belong to Marvel. **

**Prologue**

**Auschwitz 1934**

A cold rain fell drenching the unfortunate souls still standing in line for their supper. Among those in line stood a boy of fourteen, possibly fifteen, with a black felt cap and patched gray coat. He was shivering as he slowly moved forward; just another number if the etching on his right forearm was any indication. The last two years had been bleak and filled with horrors the boy had thought he would never experience, but here he was wasting away in a concentration camp because he had been born different than the party in power. He had been born Jewish when he should have been born Aryan. He was an outcast, a worthless piece of trash only good for manual labor and eventual death. These were things he was told on a daily basis by the Nazi guards watching over him and his fellow captives with sneers and guffaws following their words.

A shout from the front of the line caught his attention as a surge of bodies moved backwards and soldiers appeared, running to the front with their rifles drawn. The boy craned his neck to the side in an effort to see what was going on, but all he could glimpse was a throng of bodies through the pouring rain. He didn't need to listen to the murmurs around him to know that another beating was currently taking place. They happened too frequently to be considered newsworthy amongst the prisoners. Usually the news was who _hadn't_ been beaten during the day, and that was a rare find in times like these.

Around him the line for supper was beginning to disperse. The boy sighed knowing full well that food in his belly was a pipe dream these days. Wrapping his arms around his body to try and keep the little body warmth he had left, the boy turned away from the chaos erupting close to the mess hall and began making his way back towards the bunk house he had been assigned to. He squeezed his eyes shut as he walked in an effort to drive out the sounds of screaming coming from behind him. Another body would soon be joining the many others already in the pit located on the other side of the camp. He had lost many comrades to that pit since his arrival, and he knew that he would lose many more before he himself joined them. It wasn't a bright prospect, but death would surely be better than his present situation. He hadn't been born for manual labor, he had been born to study and learn and possibly make a name of himself one day…he had never imagined his life turning out like this, nor had he ever thought he would be as alone in the world as he was now. Two years and still no word of his parents whereabouts or well being, not even from other men arriving from different camps throughout Poland. Hope had died so long ago that the boy wasn't sure he would ever be able to find it again.

Pushing the door of the bunkhouse open the boy entered and made his way through the group of men already inside, weaving silently before plopping down onto the bed he had been allowed to call his own. His dark eyes traveled up to the wooden bottom of the bunk above him, seeking out the nooks and crannies he had come to count over and over again in an effort to fall into a dreamless sleep. Usually his nights were filled with images of his past, most specifically of the night he had been separated from his parents once and for all. He still couldn't explain what had happened that night, only that he seemed to awaken another part of him that he had never known before. It was like a hunger. A deep, insatiable hunger that he couldn't control no matter how hard he tried— or one he understood.

The boy brought his hands in front of his face, his eyes growing silent at the sight of them. He clenched them together three times as he tried to feel out the tingling sensation within them. The tingle made him shiver involuntarily. With a wince the boy dropped his hands down by his sides and resumed staring at the bunk above him. What did he know of the tingling in his hands? Thus far he only knew that his hands would feel that way whenever he was around certain things…like metal. The rifles of the Nazis, the fence around them keeping them penned like animals, the buckles of belts, and the tips of nails…all of it gave him an undeniable sense of power and yet the boy understood none of it. He couldn't explain what the feeling was other than a hunger, and after enduring the conditions of the concentration camp he was currently living in the boy considered himself an expert on hunger.

A dip at the edge of his bed alerted the boy that he was no longer alone. His eyes traveled down to the opposite side where an older man was now seated. The man had gray hair and dark eyes with a hint of laugh lines about them. He was dressed as shabbily as the boy, but there was an air about the man that made it known he was once a man of great importance, possibly a teacher or philosopher of sorts. The boy propped himself up onto his elbows to let the stranger know that he had his undivided attention.

"I have been watching you the last few days. You have a gift, boy," murmured the man, his German coming out in a low, but deep voice.

"I am cursed," replied the boy wearily. "I wasn't born like the others. I was born different."

"We are all born different. Do not let Hitler make you think you are unworthy because you are a Jew."

The boy was silent for a moment, his mind troubled. It was odd but he felt that he could trust this stranger in front of him more than he could trust any of the others. This sense of trust also made the boy want to confide in the man that it was more than being Jewish in an Aryan society that made him an outcast, but the monster he would surely be called if people knew what he could do with metal if he concentrated hard enough. Finally, after several more minutes of careful contemplation the boy said, "It is more than that. I don't think I am Jewish."

"No?" The man nodded slowly as though he could identify with the boy's claim. "You have a number on your arm because you were born a Jew. You wore a gold star before coming here, just like everyone else within these walls wore once upon a time. You look like a Jew. If you were not a Jew then you would not be in this camp with all of us, so you must be a Jew whether you want to believe it or not; for if you are not a Jew, then what are you?"

"I don't know." The boy shifted on his bed, moving into a sitting position as he brought his knees to his chest. "I feel different. I feel something inside of me."

"Your soul, perhaps?"

The boy shook his head. "It's something else."

The man smiled. "Your gift."

"I don't think it's a gift."

The man reached across the bed to place a heavy hand atop one of the boy's shoulders, squeezing it sharply to get the teen's attention. "Do not underestimate yourself. Look inside and tell me that you do not believe you were born to do great things. You have a gift, my boy. It is a gift unlike any other. You are blessed amongst the cursed souls we have become. Open your heart and accept yourself for who you really are, or else close your eyes and wait for the inevitable. Wait for death to claim you."

The boy watched as the man stood, letting go of his shoulder to put his hands into the pockets of his pants. From one pocket the man pulled out a small spoon and placed it in the middle of the bed. "Think of what I have said, and decide for yourself if you will watch things happen, or if you will _make_ them happen."

The man walked away, leaving the boy to stare at the spoon on his bed. His heart barely skipped a beat before the teen reached towards the spoon with a single hand, his fingers trembling as he concentrated with his body and soul on that single object. Sweat began to trickle down his forehead but he refused to give up. Images began to go through his mind as he concentrated, using the years of anger, humiliation, anguish and pain into his slender fingers. Then it happened, tears formed and the boy was forced to close his eyes to keep them from falling. Life had treated him so unfairly before now. All he wanted was to push this behind him and move on, never to look back again…but he knew that would never be an option. The beatings, the torture, the hunger…it would always be a part of him. This was who he was now.

With that thought the teen opened his eyes, surprise mirrored in both as he gazed down at the spoon. Where once it had been straight it was now bent around in a circle. The boy felt his mouth fall into a silent oh of wonder as he realized that it had been him who had done that to the spoon. With a trembling hand the youth picked up the spoon and brought it in front of his face, turning it around slowly. His eyes moved to the side where the boy caught the steady gaze of the older man he had been talking to moments ago. The man gave him a nod before the boy's eyes returned to the bent spoon.

"A gift," he murmured, his voice reflecting the awe he felt. "I am a gift from God."

And thus, Erik Magnus Lensherr became Magneto.


	2. Trial by Fire

_**Disclaimer **__– _again, the following plot belongs to me, but the characters and everything else belong to Marvel.

**Chapter the First**

**Trial by Fire**

The courthouse was packed. Outside throngs of reporters were gathered with cameras and microphones, readying themselves for what had become known as the trial of the century. Along with the reporters had come the protesters. There were two groups, which would be expected since pros always came with cons. On one side were signs demanding justice be served for innocent lives lost three months ago, and on the other side were more signs, these demanding the release of the one about to stand trial. It seemed to be another celebrity trial making its way through the headlines, especially with the police force out as it was today with several squadrons lining the street and sidewalk, guns at the ready on their hips.

And yet it was not a celebrity preparing to stand trial. It was a mutant. His name was St. John Allerdyce, but most people knew him as Pyro, and as a result of his actions three months before on the Island of Alcatraz in which many soldiers lost their lives, Pyro was the moniker being used on both sides today. He had been captured by the X-Men, a mutant group widely considered to be the good guys in the war between humans and mutants, a war that had seemed to end with the battle on Alcatraz Island. After his capture Pyro had been handed over to authorities because his actions could not be justified, and the nineteen year old mutant refused to repent for all he had done. His only regret was not killing a certain other teen by the name of Robert L. Drake, otherwise known as Bobby, or Iceman.

It had taken three months for the government to put together a fair case since Pyro could not be pinned for all the deaths on Alcatraz Island, nor could he be considered the ringleader of the onetime mutant terrorist group, the Brotherhood of Mutants. The true ringleader was nowhere to be found, and as such Pyro would stand as a second best, giving authorities a chance to muster up some proof that they were doing all they could to see that justice was being served, and that the war was truly over. Unfortunately, they had not foreseen the hype that would surround this particular trial, or what it would eventually cause. They were not mutants after all, for if they had been they probably would have guessed long ago that the Brotherhood could never be destroyed.

At present however the crowd outside the courthouse was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the guest of honor, the pyromaniac himself. Inside was another story. Only a handful of individuals, human and mutant, were being allowed inside so that the room would be less likely to endure a riot with too many people vying to watch the events of this trial unfold. As a result there were two lines waiting to pass through a set of metal detectors. In those two lines was a small group of people that obviously belonged together if the looks they shared were proof enough.

In one line stood a pair of teenage girls, one with bright red hair and the other with hair as black as night, streaked with bright colors of green and purple. Behind them were two teen boys, one tall and muscular, the other dressed in a blazer and slacks. In the other line stood three more teens, a petite brunette with bright blue eyes, a boy with dark hair and a strained expression on his face, and another girl with a white streak in her long brown hair. Behind her was a man, this one dressed casually with sunglasses over his eyes and a bored look upon his own face. At the front of the line, directly before the teenagers were two adults currently speaking with the security guards in charge of the metal detectors, were a woman with short white and black hair that actually appeared to be quite stylish, and a muscular man with dark hair that seemed to be shaped in something reminiscent of a wolverine.

"Okay," said the officer with a wary glance at the burly man and another, quicker, look at the woman standing with him, "I'm going to call off names, so have the members of your group step forward when their names are called. We'll send them in without question—the judge already approved it."

"Thank you, that is all we ask," replied the woman nodding her head as she glanced back at the other members of her group standing in line. It had taken her the better part of an hour to get the security to take her words seriously, and in the end she had to resort to calling an old friend to pull some strings on behalf of her and her comrades. Sometimes it paid to have friends in high places, especially places as high as the United Nations.

Clearing his throat, the guard turned his attention down to the paper in his hands before listing the names aloud. "Marie D'Ancanto, Robert Drake, Remy LeBeau, Jubilation Lee, Ororo Munroe, Katherine Pryde, Piotr Rasputin, Theresa Rourke, Warren Worthington the Third, and Logan…Logan."

One by one the named stepped forward and passed through the metal detector as another security guard waved them through, each one going through without a problem. It was the last person called forward that had difficulty with the detector. The moment Logan stepped through the metal contraction it sounded off, making all those in line behind him cringe. With a raised eyebrow he turned to study the security guard with the paper in his hands. The look on his face clearly showed just how annoyed he was as another security guard stepped forward as though to search him.

"That won't be necessary Paul. There's a note here about the metal." The first security guard had glanced up and seen his companion on the move, speaking quickly to put a stop to any trouble the second search might have provoked. He had been too busy reading the paper all the way through to pay much attention as Logan had stepped through the detector. It was very much a surprise, and an honor, to have the infamous X-Men coming to watch the trial today. They had every right to watch it of course, but considering all they had done for the United States three months ago it was a bit of a shock to find the heroic group under the same roof as him. "They're all good. Let 'em go on in."

Logan inclined his head to the side in a sign of thanks, but all watching had the distinct feeling that the man didn't mean it, which he didn't. Logan ignored the amused look on Ororo's face as he turned to follow her and the rest of their group towards the court room in which Pyro's trial, or hearing to be more exact, would be held. He could hear a soft giggle coming from ahead of him, making Logan narrow his eyes at the brunette making the sound.

"It wasn't that funny, darlin'," he stated in a half growl.

Marie glanced back with a roll of her eyes. "Shows what you know, Logan. At least this time they didn't try to feel you up like the last time we were here." Her southern accent was thick, holding back a hint of laughter behind them even as she spoke. Logan shook his head, but didn't bother to correct her. A month ago they had come to watch the quick trial of one James 'Multiple Man' Madrox and Logan had been forced to endure an unnecessary body search before Ororo had arrived with an explanation behind the metal detector going off.

"Does anyone know how long this one is going to last?" The question came from another female voice—that of Jubilation Lee, Jubilee for short. She glanced between Logan and Ororo, letting out a groan at the looks sent her way. "I know this is a really important trial, but not all of us want to sit around and watch Pyro lie his ass off to the court. We all know he's going to plead not guilty. It's not like three months behind bars has changed him much. This is Pyro we're talking about—the guy lives for trouble."

"Says the girl who spends every waking moment in detention," teased Theresa from beside the Asian-American teen.

Piotr grinned at the dour look on Jubilee's face. "She has a point, Jubes; you're always in detention for pulling a prank on someone."

"Only for the ones I get caught on," muttered Jubilee with a frown.

"Have you ever thought about _not _pulling a prank on people and seeing where it gets you?" asked Warren as the group neared the doors of the courtroom.

"Where's the fun in that?"

Ororo shook her head with a smile on her lips. "Alright, gang, that's enough of that. Remember, we're here to observe the hearing. Bobby, Kitty, Piotr, be sure to listen to what Pyro says about Alcatraz Island. You're going to be needed to testify against him once a trial date is set. Whatever you can remember about that night is going be very important…and please, let's not try and get Pyro riled up. He may be in handcuffs, but that doesn't mean he's going to be here alone. There will be mutants on his side coming to root him on. We need to be alert, and on our best behaviors. That goes for all of you. I don't want a courtroom riot appearing on the six o'clock news, got it?"

Remy shifted from one foot to another. "I've got to agree with the petite femme," he murmured. "Where's the fun in that?"

"I don't think it's supposed to be fun," pointed out Bobby seriously. "This is a big deal. This is the only trial taking place for what happened on Alcatraz. Multiple Man never even got to that battle—that's the only reason he's getting only fifty years in prison. He wasn't involved in the direct deaths of anyone…Pyro was though."

"They say the death penalty is possible," added Kitty softly. "Otherwise he'll end up with a life sentence."

"It doesn't change a thing though," stated Marie after a brief moment. "Pyro used to be one of us. They're going to mention that eventually. It's already going around in the papers that he was a student at Xavier's."

"He chose his side. He turned his back on the X-Men and decided to be a terrorist," said Logan gruffly.

"But he was still our friend once upon a time."

The group was solemn as they filed into the courtroom, none wanting to contradict Marie's words. They all knew that this trial would be one for the books once it got underway. Pyro _had _been an X-Man in training only a year ago. Something like that couldn't be ignored, and while much of the public may be unaware of Pyro's connection to the X-Men it would come to light once the trial started up. Things like that couldn't be kept a secret forever, no matter how hard one tried to keep it so.

Theresa, Jubilee, and Warren slipped into the first three seats of the very back row, nodding to Ororo that they would be on their best behavior. Marie followed Piotr and took a seat behind him, reluctantly sliding over to make room for Remy. Logan and Ororo took a seat behind them, with Logan removing Remy's arm from behind Marie before she could do the honors herself. Remy simply shrugged and shot Bobby a grin as the dark haired teen followed Kitty a few rows ahead to take empty seats up there on the opposite side of the aisle.

Bobby made himself turn around to face the front when he realized that Marie still wasn't looking at him. It had been a week since they had really spoken; a result of yet another fight the couple had embarked upon on their two year anniversary. It hadn't been anything serious really, just another disagreement on how to proceed after graduation, which would be taking place at the end of the month. While Bobby had already been accepted to a local college Marie had yet to decide on one, though she was leaning towards something on the other side of the country just to be able to see a different part of the world she currently lived in. Bobby however, wasn't willing to move so far away to be with his girlfriend. He wanted to stay in New York and continue on as a member of the X-Men as well as pursue a degree in business. He had sworn up and down that he had discussed these plans with his girlfriend before their anniversary, but he had dutifully been proven wrong when college had been mentioned. Needless to say the pair had hit another icy patch, something that had not been cured along with Marie's powers three months ago.

From beside him Kitty studied her friend, allowing a small sigh to escape her lips. It pained her to see Bobby hurting like this, especially since she knew he and Marie loved each other. Reaching out to grasp his hand she gave it a quick squeeze, saying before she let go, "Give her some more time. You guys will work this out. You always do."

"I don't know, Kit. I think this time might be different. This is our future we're talking about. Marie and I want different things…she isn't the same person she was before she got…before…"

"Have you ever stopped to think that maybe this is who she was before she came to the mansion?"

Bobby glanced at the smaller girl beside him, a smile tugging at his lips. Kitty always seemed to know the right things to say, making him grateful that they were friends. Her words were possibly true since he knew very little about Marie's life before coming to the mansion. Not many of the students talked about their pasts before Xavier's School for Gifted Children, so it was altogether possible that Kitty had a point and that Bobby was taking things out of proportion. "I should probably talk to her after this is over."

"You better, because Gambit's been trying to pull moves on her all day long now, and if you don't do something quick you're going to have competition."

Shaking his head, Bobby said, "Nah, Marie isn't into guys like Remy. He's too much trouble."

"She used to have a crush on Logan, remember?"

Bobby felt his mouth fall open even as he tried to conjure up a remark to Kitty's words. Luckily he was saved from having to say anything as another female voice interrupted his thoughts, and focusing his attention on a stranger in the aisle.

"Excuse," said the voice, "but is that seat taken?" She indicated the seat on the other side of Kitty which was very much open at that exact moment.

Glancing in the direction of the said seat, Bobby shook his head. "No, but we can scoot over for you so you can have mine." He motioned for Kitty to move down the pew, earning an odd look from her which he ignored as he went about making room for the stranger.

The girl didn't look much older than Bobby or Kitty, meaning she was around eighteen years of age. She was of a petite frame and wore knee-high leather boots with heels an inch long over black leather pants that hugged her frame and showed off the feminine curves she possessed on her lithe body. Along with the leather pants she wore a black form fitting short sleeved shirt and a black cargo jacket that only went down to her midriff. What was striking about this particular teen however was not her choice of clothing, but her hair; it was pulled back into a high pony tail, showing off the large silver hoops in her ears as well as the peach colored skin and natural beauty she seemed to possess. To top it all off the girl's hair was a bright green color, like that one would find in a box of crayons.

It was the hair that had caught Kitty's attention right away since it wasn't a natural color to find on a teen, nor was it one she thought could be found in any box of hair dye since Jubilee was fond of dyeing her hair odd colors every few days or so; but Kitty was pretty sure it wasn't the hair that had caught Bobby's attention, and as much as she didn't like to admit it, she found herself developing a pang of jealousy that she only ever had whenever Bobby was with Marie.

"I'm Bobby Drake, by the way, and this is Kitty Pryde." Bobby was already speaking, apparently forgetting that Ororo had hoped for them to be nothing more than silent observers. "Are you here for the hearing?"

The green haired girl flashed Bobby a grin. "Lorna Dane. It's nice to meet you both." Her grin faltered at the mention of the hearing. "Yeah, I'm here to hear it all right."

"Did you know someone on Alcatraz Island?" questioned Kitty curiously.

"I lost my father there. I'm here to make sure justice is served."

Both Bobby and Kitty nodded in understanding. Too many people had been affected by the events on Alcatraz Island; too many widows had been made, and orphans left behind. Today was to be a start for a healing process that would hopefully mend the wounds left behind in the aftermath of what had become known as the last stand between differing groups of mutants.

Today was the start of a new day.

--

Marie wasn't stupid when it came to her boyfriend. She knew she and Bobby were slowly drifting apart, and that eventually they would have to discuss their differences and what to do about their future together. So it struck her as no surprise that Bobby was currently chatting up a complete stranger with a pretty face. She had learned long ago that Bobby was just as human as anyone else in the world; in short, Bobby was a guy, but that didn't mean it hurt any less to know that his attention had been captivated by someone other than her. Marie had hoped that Bobby would grow out of that particular phase, the one that included the wandering eye, and commit to her like he had been asking her to do for months now…but it seemed he was doing a complete turnaround and running from her whenever she brought up the subject of their relationship and its future. Bobby and Marie had switched places when it came to their fragile love; where Marie had once been afraid to give Bobby her whole heart, it was now Bobby afraid to give Marie his.

"Forget about it, chère, you're ten times prettier than her."

The voice came from Remy who was seated beside the brunette, bringing a small smile to her face. The Cajun grinned upon noticing the smile, glad to see she could be cheered up despite the fact that her boyfriend was obviously very much taken by the green haired girl. What Marie saw in Bobby was beyond Remy's imagination, but he supposed it was the same thing Remy saw in Marie. She was nothing like him, and yet he was drawn to her, possibly because she hadn't fallen at his feet with every compliment he paid her. Since arriving at the mansion Remy had found himself a little fan club of younger students, and some staff members, taken with his charm and words spoken in French; all but Marie. She was too busy trying to salvage the remains of her relationship with Bobby to pay much attention to Remy, which immediately made her all the more attractive, not that she wasn't already. She was a southerner much like himself, of course she was pretty though Remy could do without the sarcastic remarks and eye rolls she sent his way. He could also do away with the growls Logan sent him whenever he went near Marie. The older mutant wasn't her père; he was ten times worse than a father.

Behind the pair Logan was shooting a dark look at the back of Remy's head, trying hard to keep his claws inside his knuckles even while he felt like bringing them out to wave at the Cajun. He didn't trust the younger boy, especially when it came to Marie. She was too busy going through what would probably be a major breakup with the Iceman to really pay attention to what Remy said to her, but if her heart broke Logan had a feeling Remy would be there to pick it all up and take advantage of Marie. It was that thought alone that irked Logan the most, especially since he had made a promise long ago to take care of her, and while she wasn't a little girl, or as naïve and innocent as she had been long ago, Logan still felt he owed Marie some sort of protection as long as she lived under the same roof as him.

"Calm yourself," murmured Ororo without bothering to look at Logan.

"I am calm."

"Don't make me send you back out to the car to wait for us. They're teens. They're fine."

"I know that."

"Then why are you claws coming out?" This time Ororo did shoot Logan a pointed look, making the other mutant mutter under his breath as he forced the claws back into his knuckles. Apparently he hadn't been paying as close of attention to his own self as he had been to what was going on in front of him. Logan blamed it on the lack of sleep. The last few nights had been spent with more dreams of his past. Nothing seemed to make sense in these dreams, and they always started out in the same spot, ending with him dripping in blood as he left the compound at Alkali Lake, but each time Logan dreamed this particular part of his history a new word or name would pop out at him, and each morning those words and names would vanish to the tip of his tongue, leaving him even more frustrated than before. The dreams had left him alone during the months after Jean's death—the first one. Then after she rose again as the Phoenix, and her subsequent second death at his hands, the dreams had started up again. Ororo said it was stress, but Logan had a feeling it was more than that. Being as close to the force of the Phoenix as he had been made Logan suspect that her raw powers had unleashed a part of his brain that had been hidden to him before, but latching onto that part of himself was still as hard as ever.

The courtroom quieted as the bailiff entered, leading in two sets of lawyers. The occupants of the room watched in avid interest as the lawyers began setting up their tables, pulling papers out of briefcases and pens out of coat pockets. It seemed the hearing would begin shortly. All that was needed now was the accused and the judge.

Outside the courthouse the reporters had fallen into a bored buzz of conversation as they waited for the arrival of Pyro. The day was growing warmer, and many were beginning to think that rather than show up for his own hearing, the pyromaniac would probably just send in a taped version of his plea. If that was the case then the day would be nothing more than a waste of time and money.

Just as people were beginning to believe the inevitable, three police cars pulled up in front of the courthouse. Almost immediately cameras began to flash and cameras rolled as reporters began to shout over one another as they vied for the attention of the police getting out of the car. It was no surprise that the media was ignored, for attention quickly shifted from that of the officers to the figure being led out of the police car.

Pyro wasn't a particularly tall person, or one that looked very menacing as he got out of the police car. He was of average height of a man and of a slender build. He had blondish brown hair cut down to his ears, and now sported the slightest hint of stubble across his chin. His look hadn't changed much since he had been allowed to dress up for the hearing. He wore clothes brought to him by his lawyers, which consisted of khaki pants, hard soled shoes, a blue button up shirt and a dark blue tie. While he didn't like the clothes it wasn't hard for him to admit they gave him a more innocent look than the clothes he had gone to jail in; and they certainly beat the orange jumpsuit common for all prisoners to wear while behind bars.

Shooting the cameras a cocky grin Pyro allowed himself to be pulled into the courthouse by the officers, two on either side of him in case someone decided to pull a break out. Pyro was led down the corridor of the courthouse until they reached the room in which his hearing would take place. Standing tall he moved down the aisle of the courtroom, his grin widening at the sight of Bobby seated in the crowd.

"Looks like the popsicle came to wish me luck," mused the blonde teen with a sneer. "Isn't that sweet of him? Looking at him now it's hard to believe we used to be friends."

Bobby gritted his teeth but kept silent even as Pyro was deposited in the seat beside his court appointed lawyer. He had hoped that some time behind bars would change his former friend and roommate, but it seemed the slammer had only honed Pyro's obvious dislike of Bobby, and vice versa. Bobby knew that nothing would ever sway Pyro back to the X-Men, and while it pained him to know that one of his closest friends had been lost forever, it also gave him a swell of pride that he was the reason Pyro was now behind bars. He had stuck to what he had known to be right and had prevailed. It was more than enough for Bobby to be content with how things had turned out.

"All stand for the Honorable Judge Matthews."

As one the court stood as a middle aged man entered the courtroom dressed in robes of black. He motioned for the court to be seated, and thus the hearing began.

--

Pyro was led to the front of the court and placed in the seat reserved for witnesses. His dark eyes wandered around the room, pausing on the faces of his former friends in the days when he had been an X-Geek. He snorted at the irony of it all. He had never really thought he would be sitting before a court about to plead his innocence, or guilt as everyone else already believed of him. Pyro knew he didn't stand a chance, and after listening to the judge state the reason why they were here, the mutant really didn't give a damn. He had done what he thought right, and nothing would ever make him change his mind. Besides, there was always the chance he would be acquitted and set free once more.

In his seat Logan shifted as his own eyes studied the various people seated in the courtroom. He smelled trouble, but he with so many people crowded together he wasn't one hundred percent sure where that trouble would come from. He had Ororo had known from day one that this hearing, and the eventual trial soon to come, would bring certain mutants out of the woodwork. The problem was that it was nearly impossible to tell which person was actually a mutant and which one was actually a human. But among them Logan knew there were old followers of Magneto seated inside the courthouse awaiting their chance to try and set their old friend free. It was inevitable that something like this would be attempted—even if the mighty Magneto himself was missing from the limelight. The X-Men knew that even without Magneto there would be someone running the little remains of the Brotherhood of Mutants, and that eventually that someone would come out into the open. What better day to do so then on the same day as one of their own came to trial?

"St. John Allerdyce, alias Pyro, how do you plead in the charges brought against you this day?"

Leaning forward into the microphone Pyro grinned. "Not guilty."

The answer had been expected, but it didn't stop the murmurs from starting up. In the crowd the X-Men each shook their heads or gritted their teeth knowing that this would turn into a very emotionally charged trial before long.

"I object."

The words were spoken in a firm voice, clear as day and heard by all sitting inside the courtroom. All eyes, including that of the baffled lawyers and judge, turned to see who had spoken up out of turn.

Lorna Dane stood, making sure everyone was listening before speaking, her words directed at Pyro. "You are a murderer."

"I am."

"You killed humans."

"I did."

"You would kill mutants."

"I would."

The judge hammered his gavel, trying to gain the attention of the green haired girl. "Be seated, young lady. You have no right to speak at this hearing."

For her part, Lorna only ignored the judge, continuing with her words. "You are a terrorist."

"I suppose I am."

"You followed Magneto without question."

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"Do you regret what you have done?"

"Enough!" bellowed the judge, motioning for officers to approach the teen. "You are excused from this court!"

Pyro's eyes never left Lorna's as he answered; his words deadly serious. "I regret nothing."

"Then you," stated Lorna, "are innocent."

What happened next came without warning. One minute the guards were approaching Lorna and the next their guns were hanging in the air, pointed at the heads of the guards, freezing them in place. Gasps came from all sides as Lorna stepped into the aisle, her eyes still trained on Pyro. Behind her she could hear the members of the X-Men standing. A small smile curled onto her lips as Logan took a step forward, only to freeze in his tracks as Lorna shot a hand in his direction, turning her body to face him.

"I heard tell that metal ran through your entire body, and until now I hadn't believed it. That only goes to show you _can _learn something new every day."

"Who the hell are you?" spat out Logan as he tried to move, but found he couldn't. His mind raced as he tried to figure out how it was possible this tiny creature in front of him could do what only one other man had ever been able to do to him.

"My name is Lorna Dane." Her head turned towards the front of the courtroom, past the guards with the guns still pointed at their heads. Pyro stood, the shackles around his wrists and legs falling to the floor. He jumped over the podium he had been at, grinning at the wide eyed looks of his lawyers. Turning back to Logan Lorna continued, "But you can call me Polaris." With that said, the teen brushed her fingers through the air in a sweeping movement, sending Logan sailing backwards into the back of the courtroom, breaking through the wall as he flew out into the hallway.

"It took you a long time to get here, Princess," muttered Pyro as he pushed through the dividing doors of the courtroom.

"I was busy."

"I bet you were."

Ororo nodded at her students as she stepped into the aisle, her eyes turning pure white. "I'm afraid neither of you will be leaving here today."

Both Pyro and Lorna turned to study the weather witch behind them with unconcern written across their faces as thunder rolled in the background. To one side Bobby was icing up his hands as Piotr encased himself in steel. Lorna glanced at Pyro with disdain. "Trouble seems to be attracted to you."

"What can I say, I'm a popular guy."

From the back of the court Warren stood with his wings outstretched, Jubilee right beside him with fingers fizzling purple and yellow. Theresa also stood, her eyes trained on Ororo as though awaiting the older woman's words to make a move. Standing in front of Marie was Remy, a deck of cards being shuffled about in his hands.

"I never liked your popularity," murmured Lorna.

"I never liked you, so I think we're even," replied Pyro with a lazy shrug.

"We'll need to work on that if you're to work for me."

"Whatever gets us out of here, Princess."

Events unfolded at an alarming pace with that one word. Out of nowhere a lighter appeared and Pyro had a ball of flame formed and flying in the direction of Bobby. Kitty moved quickly, phasing herself and Bobby through the unexpected flame as another ball of flame flew towards the back of the courtroom in the direction of Jubilee, Theresa and Warren. Jubilee dodged behind a seat as Warren lifted himself into the air. Theresa was already out of the way, so the flame never even touched her. Instead she opened her mouth to let out a sonic scream, only to have a hand clamp over her mouth, stopping the scream before it started.

"I wouldn't if I were you," murmured the white haired woman in a kindly voice. "You'll make her angry, and that wouldn't be in your best interest."

Theresa struggled to get out of the woman's grasp, but found she was growing weaker by the second. The sudden loss of energy oddly reminded her of the time she had the flu last summer, though this time it felt ten times worse. By the time the woman let go of Theresa her entire body had gone limp and her hair was drenched in sweat. She fell to the ground in an unconscious heap as chaos continued on around her.

Ororo moved to strike with lightning, but her concentration was cut off by the ground moving beneath her feet. The lightning strike went wild, hitting Piotr instead of either of the intended targets. The Russian mutant stumbled to the ground in surprise as the ground continued to move beneath their feet. It was like an earthquake hitting New York City for the very first time in a long while. The reason it had started became quite clear as a slender man with dark hair cropped close to his head, dark eyes, and olive colored skin stood up from his spot in the very first row of the courthouse. His fists were clenched and the ground began to shake harder, knocking humans down as they tried to flee the courtroom.

A card flew towards the newcomer in the front row, but it was whisked into the air by a rubber like object, exploding in the air. Down from the ceiling a man with green tinged skin dropped to the ground, hocking back what seemed like a wad of spit at Remy, hitting him directly in the face. The Cajun fell to the ground as the acid burned at his skin. Marie dropped to his side in an effort to tear the hardened spit off his face, though every attempt seemed fruitless.

From the back of the courtroom Jubilee stood, shooting a swath of fireworks in the direction of the troublemakers, only to see it bounce harmlessly off the gut of a very large man. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she gazed up at the large man in front of her, knowing then and there she didn't stand a chance in a round against him. Jubilee took a step back, bumping into Warren who had dropped to her side, his wings badly mangled from an encounter with the toad like mutant and his spit from only moments ago.

"You're with the Brotherhood?" Bobby's question caught the attention of Lorna and Pyro, both of whom turned to face the teen standing in a defensive position with Kitty behind him.

"Like father, like daughter." As Bobby moved to attack Lorna blinked, and five gunshots rang out in the room. Bobby froze with his mouth opening as he shook his head. Five thuds greeted his ears as he stared at the green haired teen in front of him, neither one saying a word.

"You…"

"I have no mercy for humans or those who protect them."

Pyro glanced at the entrance of the courtroom at the sound of sirens wailing in the background. "Sounds like it's time to go, Princess."

Lorna nodded sharply, moving to place her hand on the shoulder of a single man still seated in his seat despite all that had been going on around him. He was a pale man, reminiscent of an albino with his large pale eyes and pale colored hair cut so close to his head. He wore a shabby pair of pants, shirt and jacket, but there was something about him that made it evident he was one of great importance.

"Your time has come, seeker," whispered Lorna as she leaned close to his ear. "Sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option."

"It never was," agreed the man as he stood up, his figure towering at six feet.

With a smirk Lorna turned to walk down the aisle with Pyro and the pale man right behind her. Behind them trailed the green skinned mutant and man with the power over the earth, which were then joined by the old woman with white hair and the giant blob of a man. Together the group walked out of the courthouse with no one stepping forward to stop them. Behind them they left a whirlwind of disaster, with five dead bodies to be accounted for.

Walking at the front of the group Lorna stepped into the New York City sunlight, gaining the attention of everyone standing outside as the sun shone on her green hair. Police cars screeched to a halt in front of the courthouse, but none stood a chance with a pyromaniac and metal manipulator at the helm.

One camera managed to capture the fight that ensued between the small group of mutants and the police, catching on film a massacre of the deadliest type. No mercy was shown, but fear was embedded in the minds of all who witnessed what transpired that day. In the end only one thing could be said of what happened.

The Brotherhood of Mutants had returned with a vengeance.

-End of Chapter One-

**a/n – a cookie to all those who can name all the mutants used in this chapter. xD**


	3. Unveiled

_**Disclaimer – **_**again, the following plot belongs to me, but the characters and everything else belong to Marvel. **

**Chapter the Second**

**Unveiled**

Ororo sighed as made her way down the grand staircase and headed in the direction of what had once been the study of Professor Charles Xavier. It was still a study by all means, but it now belonged to Ororo and was only used for informal meetings, like the one she had called for after the events of the trial. It had been late afternoon by the time the X-Men had returned to the mansion they called home, but it hadn't been the end of the chaos. Upon arriving at the mansion a colleague had called Ororo and Logan's attention to the television, though not in regards to Pyro's escape. It seemed the fire thrower's escape had only been one of many. In upstate New York at the federal prison a woman with hair as black as night, along with a tawny haired man that resembled a beast, had walked right in and broke Multiple Man loose from his cell. Four guards had been killed in the process; two more had been injured, though only one was in critical condition. As if that weren't bad enough, on the other side of the country in the state of California a blur had whizzed through the mutant holding center. Moments later the mutant known as the Juggernaut was busy bowling down security guards on his way out of the prison, making life for Ororo a tad more hectic than she had wanted. All day long her phone had been plagued with phone calls asking for the aide of the X-Men in retrieving these criminals once more.

"Whoa, Ms. Munroe, you're totally looking pale," commented Jubilee as Ororo finally entered the study. "Maybe you should lay off the stress meter, huh?"

"I wish I could," replied Ororo wearily. "Hank has called three times to see if there is anything he can do to be of service to us. The President calls every half hour for updates. I don't know what to tell anyone anymore. I don't know what to do or say about this mess. I had…I had thought that without Magneto the Brotherhood wouldn't be much of a threat anymore. It was wishful thinking."

Logan grimaced as Ororo paced the study. It made him nervous when people paced. Actually it was more of an itch that developed, making the man feel restless. He desperately wanted to be out doing something like sniffing down the brat who had thrown him through the wall and wreaked havoc at the courthouse while breaking loose the pyromaniac. "Why don't we start by answering the basics, 'Ro. Who the hell are these mutants and why does it seem like the Brotherhood's going to follow them without question?"

Bobby cleared his throat nervously. "Lorna…or Polaris, whatever you want to call her…she mentioned something about 'like father, like daughter'."

"Magneto?" questioned Marie. She frowned at the thought, shifting on the couch to move away from Remy who had plopped himself beside her once more. "I didn't think Magneto had any kids. I mean, wouldn't the Professor have mentioned it before now?"

"There were a lot of things the Professor didn't choose to reveal to us," said Ororo softly. "His past with Magneto was always something of a mystery even to Jean and Scott. Magneto himself is one of the largest enigmas out there. All any of us ever really knew about him was the fact that he had survived the Holocaust and had been a teacher here when I was younger. He left shortly after I arrived, so I'm the worst one to answer your question. If he had a family, or children of his own, I wouldn't know. It's possible though. Anything's possible at this point."

Warren frowned. "But she's so…_young_ for lack of a better word. Magneto's not exactly young himself…you really think he has a daughter our age?"

"He's a guy," pointed out Kitty from her own seat in a straight-backed chair. "Just because he's mutant, or was mutant, doesn't make him exempt from human impulses. It's entirely possible he had some kind of relationship that resulted in a child. He had that icky link with Mystique, didn't he? Maybe Lorna's their child together or something?"

"Oh gross," muttered Theresa wrinkling her nose. "This is just bringing a crap-load of bad images to my mind. Can't we talk about something a little less…oh I don't know, gross?"

"Okay then, how about the fact that we now have three dangerous mutants on the loose again, along with two more killers on the loose, and a whole contingent of other mutants following these wannabe terrorists?" Logan offered up the words without bothering to soften them, making the teens standing in the room all cringe under his glare. He shook his head and moved away from the desk to calm himself. It wouldn't do to get everyone worked up over something they had no control of.

Piotr drummed his fingers along his knees, his forehead crinkled in a mass of wrinkles that indicated he was thinking. "It really doesn't matter if she's Magneto's daughter, Mystique's kid, or someone else's. What matters is the fact that the Brotherhood is regrouping. They've got a lot to be angry about. Half of those that lived after the fight on Alcatraz are human now. We should probably be concerned about them falling in with the new Brotherhood and stirring up more trouble."

"As humans?" Jubilee made a face. "Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose behind the Brotherhood?"

"It probably depends," said Marie thoughtfully. "If this is a new Brotherhood then it's going to be assumed there's new leadership, right? Magneto hasn't been seen or heard from since he vanished on Alcatraz Island. I can't see him running the Brotherhood again as a human, no matter how much he hated the humans, but that doesn't mean this new leadership won't use former mutants to press their point."

"Which is?" questioned Remy as he glanced over at the southern belle behind him.

"Not all mutants took the cure voluntarily. There are still a lot out there protesting its usage, even after Alcatraz Island. What happened on that island was bad no matter how you look at it, but it doesn't change the fact that the cure was made into a weapon that day. With Pyro out on Polaris' little bail scheme you can bet they're going to use that fact to get more members. It was bad thinking on our part that the Brotherhood was gone for good. Magneto only started the vision of the Brotherhood, just like the Professor started his vision of the X-Men. Isn't it fitting that just like we can go on without our visionary leader, the Brotherhood can go on as well?"

The room grew silent for a moment before Bobby spoke aloud the question on everyone's minds. "Then what happens now?"

--

"Not bad, Princess. I could have done better though."

Lorna ignored Pyro's words as she led him through the doors of the abandoned apartment building with the rest of her group behind her. They had hidden in the sewers after ridding themselves of the cops in front of the courthouse, and it hadn't been until after dusk that the group found the streets dark and clear enough to wander through on their way back to the temporary headquarters of the new Brotherhood.

Pyro frowned at the lack of words coming from the green haired teen. She had been overly snippy with him as they had sat around the sewers. Her sudden silence was unnerving to say the least, but then again, Pyro had never really known what to make of the girl in the time that he had come to know her. He had first met Lorna a month after joining the Brotherhood. She had appeared at camp one day with Mystique and Toad, the green mutant that had aided in Pyro's escape earlier in the day. The green hair had stood out in his mind, quickly followed by her looks. She reminded him of a sultry vixen with a hint of innocence still in her face, and Pyro had immediately found her attractive. Ten minutes later all that had changed when she proved to be nothing more than a spoiled brat used to getting her way, and currently cut off from her trust fund set up by her very rich adoptive parents. The pair hadn't hit it off very well, something that had possibly resulted from the pickup line Pyro had used on Lorna that resulted in her slapping him. Five minutes later Magneto was breaking up their very vocal argument to introduce his daughter to the pyromaniac.

Needless to say Pyro had tried to stay on Lorna's good side whenever Magneto was around, but that didn't make him like the teen any more than he had to. Yet today she had rescued him from a lifetime in prison…or worse, the death penalty. It had been expected though. Lorna was heir to the Brotherhood monarchy as the daughter of Magneto, though her capability at leading the group was rather questionable. She was young and inexperienced despite her dark ways. From what Pyro had gathered Lorna's falling out with her family had something to do with using her powers to harm someone at school, and the fact that the girl was a bit of a compulsive shoplifter.

"Hey," Pyro swallowed his pride and called after Lorna as she headed through a doorway. The rest of the mutants seemed to be dispersing on their own, possibly to try and drown out any vocal arguments Pyro and Lorna would have. "Lorna, stop."

With a sigh Lorna did stop, though she refused to turn around and face Pyro. Since getting him out of trouble he had only called into question her capacity to make any decisions whatsoever. It seemed no matter how hard she tried he, along with the rest of the Brotherhood for that matter, would never see her as anything more than a child. Magneto had thought the same thing, for instead of allowing her to participate on Alcatraz Island he had sent her to Canada to search for someone in particular for him; another mutant that would prove useful in the future. Well Lorna had found the mutant and brought her back to the Brotherhood, but whatever plans Magneto had for the newcomer had vanished along with him. Since then Lorna had been thrust into a new role, one she cherished, but also one no one seemed to think she could handle.

"What, Pyro? Are you going to tell me I should go upstairs and play with my dollies and you'll take over my stead? Because if you are, you can save it—that's all I've been hearing all week, alright? I'm not in the mood to fuck around anymore. We all know the Brotherhood will follow you to the ends of the earth. That's why Pietro and Wanda went ahead and named you their co-leader." The words flowed out of Lorna's mouth with venom behind them. She seemed quite upset over it all, making Pyro pause before saying anything.

"Actually, I was going to say thanks for breaking me out. You did alright you know. You proved you aren't a kid anymore." It wasn't exactly a pep talk, but Pyro knew from experience how Lorna was when she started crying. It took hours to get her to stop. She never understood that her childish nature and habits were the sole reasons behind the Brotherhood being reluctant in letting her run it, but that didn't make her any less of a darling to the male members hoping for an easy lay whenever she did grow up.

"Just leave me alone." Lorna gave Pyro a tired look before plopping down onto a pale sofa with stuffing coming out of its cushions. Glancing around the pyromaniac realized they were in an apartment. It didn't exactly look lived in so he assumed it was nothing more than a base of operations for the new leadership of the Brotherhood.

Choosing not to listen to her Pyro asked a question. "Where _are _Pietro and Wanda?"

"Wanda took Sabertooth with her to go and get Multiple out of jail…and Pietro was headed to California to get Juggernaut back. They want the old team back together before they get the new one put together."

"Makes sense to me."

"Only because you get along with them, Johnny. I don't, remember?"

"That's only because you whine too much. Stop acting like a baby and they might include you in their plans."

"Yes, because having your bastard sister helping out would make sense, right?" snapped Lorna irritably.

Pyro shrugged and didn't respond. The truth of the matter was Lorna wasn't Magneto's only child, and to top it off, she wasn't even his legitimate child. She was merely the result of a temporary fling with a random mutant Magneto had met upon starting up his Brotherhood of Mutants. The woman gave birth to a daughter but because Magneto wouldn't recognize the child as such Lorna was given up for adoption and her mother disappeared off the face of the planet. Pietro and Wanda on the other hand were the true children of Magneto. He had been married to their mother and very much in love when they had been born. Her death at the hands of humans had estranged father from children for many years until the twins sought him out with every intention of connecting with him. It seemed their own lives with a different family had not been one for the storybooks, for they too were of the mindset that humans were intolerable at best. A month after reuniting with their father the twins were doing recon work for him to recruit other members. It was Pietro and Wanda who had convinced mutants like Sabertooth and Toad to join up in the first place.

The Maximoff twins as they were generally regarded as would make fine leaders for the Brotherhood without a doubt. The pair was much like their father in being able to calculate plans with a cunning joie de vivre none had ever witnessed before. Their closeness with their father had almost been shattered however with the arrival of Lorna. Since her joining up with the Brotherhood the twins had done little to accept her as their sister, especially given the age difference between them. To the twins Lorna was still a child, and while Pyro wasn't much older than Lorna he was twice as capable of running the Brotherhood as she was, with a hint more maturity to top it off.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll let you tag along on outings if you want," suggested Pyro after a few minutes passed by in silence.

Lorna rolled her eyes. "I'm a Lensherr, Pyro, not some random kid off the street. I have as much of a say in what happens with the Brotherhood as Pietro and Wanda or you do."

"Uh-huh, and what makes you think that?"

"I'm the one Caliban talks to. He doesn't talk to Pietro or Wanda."

Pyro grew quiet again, something he was finding to be altogether frequent with the green haired girl this evening. The truth was she had a point about Caliban; she _was _the only one the albino-like mutant would speak to, though his reasons were unknown. All Pyro did know about Caliban was that the mutant had lived in the sewers most of his life and had been particularly close to Callisto, Quill, Arclight, and Psylocke before joining up with the Brotherhood. Caliban hadn't actually done much participation; he had mainly stuck by Lorna's side like some sort of guide, and if he wasn't by her side he was glued to Callisto. Once upon a time Caliban had been something of a wise man, for it was him a lot of the mutants Callisto had led went to for minor troubles or advice.

"Just because he talks to you doesn't make you a leader, Princess," murmured Pyro with a softer edge to his voice.

"No," she agreed, "but with his help I could help lead the Brotherhood."

"Don't turn this into a battle for leadership. We're low enough in numbers as it is."

"You know I wouldn't do that. It'd be pointless to have two Brotherhood's running around anyway. But I _can _be of help. I'm not a child."

"Then don't act like one." Pyro grinned. It had seemed like the right time to put that jab in. He didn't mind being serious when it came time for battle, but the teen still had a mischievous streak in him that wasn't quite ready to go away.

"Don't tempt her." A female voice came from the doorway, causing both Pyro and Lorna to glance in its direction. A woman with black hair entered the room wearing red clothing that hugged her curves in all the right places. Pyro gave the woman an appreciative once over as she entered before noticing the man behind her.

"Hey, Jamie, how was prison?"

The man in question shrugged nonchalantly, a grin on his face. "Can't complain," he replied with a grin. "I made a few friends, freaked a few others out with my multiplying skills, and spit food at the guards. All in all I'd say it was twice as fun as high school, but I wouldn't go back."

"It was pure hell getting out of there though," snorted the dark haired woman. "I think five of them were killed on our way out—Sabertooth's off licking his wounds somewhere upstairs now. Damn brute wanted to kill everyone in the joint. I had to restrain him with my powers so we could escape before the army arrived."

"I told you it was too risky to bring him along, Wanda," murmured Lorna as her eyebrows knitted together. She stiffened under the cold look sent her way from the other woman.

"Yes, but without him I would've have been strained." Wanda's attention shifted to Pyro, surprise lighting up in her eyes. "I see you managed to get Pyro out. I'm sure having Avalanche, Toad, Blob, and Plague along helped."

Judging by the gritting of Lorna's jaw Pyro knew a battle of wills was in order. Rather than endure a match between the two mutants he quickly came to Lorna's defense. "Actually, she wasn't half bad, Wanda. It almost reminded me of Magneto today. Lorna took out five humans and the Wolverine. She's learning, you have to give her that."

Wanda was silent, her own jaw set firmly as she continued to lock eyes at the younger girl seated on the couch. "Maybe," she said grudgingly, her eyes moving back to Pyro. "At least you're back. Now we'll be able to get down to business again—once Pietro returns. I'm not sure if he'll be showing up with Juggernaut today or tomorrow. It's late as it is, so we won't be getting down to business until tomorrow anyway. Find yourself an empty apartment somewhere and make yourself at home. This is going to be our headquarters for a while." Without another word Wanda swept out of the room without another glance at the other three occupants.

Jamie let out a low whistle after the woman had gone. "Talk about the ice queen," he muttered. "She's one serious woman, isn't she?"

"She means business—not much for playing around."

"What do you think that means for the Brotherhood?"

"Absolutely nothing," replied Lorna ruefully. "Wanda's just like our father—she'll lead just like he did. You don't have to worry about anything out of the ordinary happening. Wanda and Pietro knew what father had planned for after Alcatraz. We've just hit a little bump in the road. Once our numbers have risen we'll be back in business."

"Huh, works for me." Jamie gave another grin before patting Pyro on the back and heading out of the room, whistling as he went.

Pyro watched him go before turning back to Lorna who was standing up from her spot on the couch. "No fight? You're not losing your touch, are you?"

"Screw you. It's the truth. Wanda and Pietro are going to keep things going for us. We both know it. Magneto kept them up to date with plans…he didn't bother telling me anything unless I was needed. That doesn't mean I don't think I'm not qualified to co-lead, I'm just tired of arguing my point. One day they'll see we aren't all that different. Until then I'll just co-lead with you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, co-lead with me?" Pyro shook his head. "No way, Princess, you aren't exactly the easiest person to get along with."

"Oh please, you just don't like working with anyone."

"Uh-huh, and because Wanda and Pietro aren't going to go for it—you know they won't."

Lorna smirked, her legs bringing her to stand in front of the pyromaniac so she could pat his cheek condescendingly. "They'll reconsider if you tell them it would keep me from causing trouble in the ranks…and you could keep a better eye on me for them. Wanda doesn't trust me. That much is obvious; and Pietro ignores me like I don't even exist. All you have to do is convince them it would be in their best interests if you let me tag along with you like a partner of sorts."

Pyro gaped at the teen before pulling his wits about him. Obviously she had put a lot of thought into this, despite moping about ten minutes earlier. "Give me one good reason why I should."

"I'll give you two." Lorna leaned forward, brushing her lips against his ear to whisper in a low voice. Pyro's eyebrows shot upwards, his head nodding of its own accord. Satisfied that she had made her point Lorna pulled away from Pyro with a triumphant look on her face before saying, "And the second reason is because I came and rescued your sorry ass today."

"Fine, but if I agree to this, Princess, you can't pull any funny stuff on me," agreed Pyro with only a hint of a frown on his face. "I don't like people who don't play nice."

"Says the man who likes to play with fire."

"Cute, now why don't you show me my room, huh?"

--

Dr. Henry McCoy, or Hank as he preferred to be called, gave only the briefest of nods to a human woman seated behind a secretarial desk as he entered the small waiting room. She nodded back, giving the blue, furry mutant no reason to dilly dally. Instead he pushed open the door to the Oval Office, a grim expression on his face as he greeted the men already seated inside the room. This was hardly a pleasantry call on Hank's part. He had already discussed the events of the day with Ororo three times, each time offering her his assistance if need be, as well as scoured the news for all items related to the three breakouts that seemed to have happened one right after another, or at the same time according to some sources.

"Hank, I'm glad you could make it," murmured the aged voice of President David Cockrum. He extended a hand to Hank, which the mutant shook warmly. Since his appointment to the United Nations Hank and the President had become rather good friends, but both were of the same feeling that things would be different once more with current events.

"I came as soon as you called, Mr. President. Have you learned anything more about the breakouts?"

The voice that answered did not belong to the President, but to a dark skinned man with a sour look upon is face. Hank couldn't help but grimace further. Bolivar Trask was one of the least likeable men working in the White House. As the Secretary of Homeland Security the man had made it his lifelong mission to fight terrorism in all forms, though most currently he favored the form of mutants as terrorists.

Bolivar cleared his throat. "Her name is Lorna Dane. She's believed to be the illegitimate daughter of Magneto. We have agents learning more from her adoptive parents. They claim they haven't seen her for close to a year now due to a falling out and the girl running away. She was the one to break Allerdyce free at the courthouse today. She wasn't alone either. From what we can gather, and from the few mutants in our system, she was accompanied by Dominic Petros, Frederick Dukes, Mortimer Toynbee, and a woman by the name of Elaine Hennessy. The three males all have criminal records while the old woman has been rumored to be the cause behind ill agents trying to scare mutants out of hiding in the local sewer system."

"That's quite extensive knowledge of mutants I've only just heard about," murmured Hank coolly.

Bolivar simply shrugged. He didn't care much for Hank either, and not just because the man was a mutant. He was too much of a damn optimist. "It's my job to know." Both knew it was a lie. Bolivar Trask had once worked alongside William Stryker on a top secret project along with another colleague by the name of Nicholas Fury.

"Either way, Hank," stated David with a sigh, "it seems the Brotherhood is back in business again. We're working on discovering the identities of the other three mutants involved in the other two breakouts. All in all, we have a crisis on our hands."

"I know, Mr. President. I had hoped with the humanization of Magneto the Brotherhood would break apart…but it seems I was wrong in thinking that. They are much craftier than I had given them credit for. Though if you are right in saying this girl is the daughter of Magneto, then we have a _very_ big problem on our hands. A legacy within the Brotherhood would be very dangerous."

"So are the mutants involved in the Brotherhood," pointed out Bolivar sagely. "They need to be taken out. Already we've got a body count of thirteen officers dead at the hands of mutants today. Humans don't like seeing images of dead bodies."

"Nor do mutants, Mr. Trask." Hank visibly bristled at the indication that mutants wouldn't be appalled at the events of the day as though they were incapable of feeling like humans felt.

"The point of the matter, Dr. McCoy, is that the members of the Brotherhood are a danger to society." A new voice entered the fray, causing Hank to study the unknown man with mild curiosity. The man had blonde hair slicked back atop his head, and beady brown eyes that made Hank distrust him almost instantly.

"And what would you propose we do?" questioned Hank cautiously.

"Round them up."

"Just like that? What you are suggesting, my good man, is something akin to segregation. The only way to round up a member of the Brotherhood would be to apprehend all mutants to drill them on their loyalties. Not all mutants side with the Brotherhood, but their views could easily be made to seem accepting of the beliefs of the Brotherhood."

"You are taking my words out of proportion. Allow me to amend my proposal. I am not suggesting round up mutants like cattle—I am merely saying that when the Brotherhood strikes, for we all know it is not a matter of it, but when they strike…I propose we unveil a project long kept on the back shelves of the Defense Department. When the Brotherhood makes their move we send in our secret weapons and round them up without any more senseless deaths of humans."

Hank felt his mouth fall open slightly as a thought occurred to him. Long ago, when he had just been starting out in politics, he had heard of a shelved project that Bolivar Trask had been the head of, along with the help of a man by the name of Randall Lightfoot. If it was the same project Hank was thinking of then it was one to be wary of. He had discussed the project with Professor Xavier a long time ago, but neither had thought the government would ever pass it through congress; but today thirteen men and women had died at the hands of mutants. It wasn't as great a catastrophe as Alcatraz Island, but it was still a harsh blow to a society that had barely been coming to terms with its mutant population.

"And this project?" asked David with avid interest.

The man who spoke this time was a man with copper colored skin and black hair. "We've come to call them Sentinels, Mr. President."

-End of Chapter Two-

**a/n – cookies to **Henry-Coreen-Lover125 **and** trekker4life** for guessing correctly on several of the unnamed mutants in the last chapter. In case you didn't catch their names in this one, the answers were Avalanche, Blob, Toad, and Plague, and little Siryn with the X-Men.**

**New contest – popcorn to those who can tell me the identity of the man with blonde hair and beady eyes, as well as the identity of our Randall Lightfoot the man who unveiled the Sentinels. I'm afraid I made it too hard though, so sorry in advance…xD**


	4. Devious Minds

_**Disclaimer – **_**once more, of the following only the plot is mine, Marvel owns everything else.**

**Chapter the Third**

**Devious Minds **

The sound of a lighter snapping open woke Pyro from a dead sleep. He struggled to open his eyes as the smell of a cigarette infiltrated his senses. Letting out a soft moan the pyromaniac glanced at the green glow of the alarm clock beside the bed before pushing himself into a sitting position. It was exactly 3:13 in the morning, not exactly his idea of a good time for a cigarette break. Running a hand over his face Pyro glanced over at the open apartment window where Lorna stood with a cigarette in her hand. A cocky grin flitted onto his face as he realized she was wearing his button up shirt from earlier in the day. It actually didn't look half bad on her, but then again, Pyro hadn't had any problems with it a few hours ago either when Lorna had helped him take it off. The girl had talent; that much was for sure.

Apparently Lorna was lost in thought for she hadn't seemed to notice Pyro waking up. The nineteen year old glanced around at the floor before moving to place his feet on the wooden ground to lean over and grab his pants from a small pile of clothes. After disentangling a bra from one of his pant legs Pyro was able to pull the article of clothing on before standing up and making his way over to the window. The green haired teen was leaning against one side, and as Pyro got closer he could see several of the top buttons of his shirt left unbuttoned. He couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face as he took the cigarette from her fingers and placed it in his mouth. He then sat himself down on the windowsill with his back facing the night sky.

Lorna pressed her lips into a pout as she glanced at Pyro. "Couldn't you have just gotten one of your own?" she asked.

"What, and not piss you off? That isn't how I work, Princess, you know that."

"You're such an asshole, you know that?"

"Uh-huh, tell me, is this how you treat all your one night stands? Or am I just lucky?"

"You should be thanking me for giving you the time of day, Johnny. You aren't even my type."

"First of all, it's night, and secondly," pointed out Pyro as he blew out some smoke in Lorna's face, "I'm _every_body's type."

Lorna narrowed her eyes and looked to be moving to walk away when Pyro put out a hand to stop her, gripping her arm firmly. "You need to stop acting like a spoiled little brat, Lorna. If you want people to take you seriously here you can't keep having temper tantrums if you don't get your way. I thought we made a deal that if you're going to be working with me you'd start listening and learning how to a member of the Brotherhood and not Lorna's little fantasy army."

"I only agreed to sleep with you if you let me work with you," snarled Lorna.

Pyro nodded but didn't let go of Lorna's arm. Seconds ticked by as the pair continued to avoid eye contact, Pyro smoking the cigarette and Lorna fuming. Close to a minute later Pyro felt Lorna's arm grow slack in his hand. He allowed his gaze to move in her direction, frowning when he saw the look of defeat on her face.

"What am I doing here, Johnny?" questioned Lorna softly. "This isn't my world. I belong home with my adoptive parents living the life I thought I had been born too. Money, cars, expensive jewelry, designer clothes, and guys on their way to becoming the next Donald Trump—that's my life; not any of this. I'm spoiled, I'm shallow, I'm a bitch—how the hell does that make me a leader for the Brotherhood? I should just go back home."

"Yeah, you could do that," agreed Pyro after a moment, "but you're forgetting the little breakout you staged earlier today. You killed people, Lorna. You were harassed by humans all your life. I've heard all the stories. Remember last year when we were drunk and you started going on about that guy you dated…what was his name?"

"Alex."

"Yeah, him. You said he treated you differently after you told him you were a mutant. He started acting like you weren't even there, stopped returning your phone calls, and then even took another date with him to your birthday party. It's because of people like him that we're still going, Lorna. We could have disbanded after Alcatraz, but we didn't."

Lorna snorted. "Yeah, while it's nice to hear you giving a pep talk, John, it isn't working. You've been in jail since Alcatraz. The only reason we're still going is because Wanda and Pietro rallied the team together again. I'll never be like them no matter how hard I try. Magneto may agree and say I'm his daughter, but he never went out of his way to make me feel welcome like he did with Wanda and Pietro. It's like I'm scum. It's like I'm a goddamn third wheel in my own family."

Raising his eyebrows Pyro let go of Lorna's arm to slip an arm around her waist, pulling her body towards his. "I thought you hated families," he stated putting his cigarette out on the windowsill.

The green haired teen shrugged, her eyes still avoiding Pyro's. "I hate my adoptive parents. I hate Pietro and Wanda. I want to hate Magneto, but I can't. He's all I have, and now even he's gone." Finally, her green eyes gazed down into Pyro's, allowing him a glimpse of something he hadn't quite seen in the teen before. There was a sense of loss in her eyes, and fear. "I have nowhere else to go, that's why I'm still fighting to belong here. If Pietro or Wanda decided to kick me out I'd be lost. The only reason I joined the Brotherhood was because of my father…and ever since then I've been trying to prove that I belong here, that I'm a Lensherr, but no one wants to give me a chance. I'm not given any tasks to do, and I had to work my ass off to get people like Avalanche and Blob to consider working with me."

"It helps you've got Caliban."

"And I've only got him on my side because I knew he was the one giving Callisto the feed on finding all the other mutants before she was killed. She was a phony. Her only skill was her agility, but everyone else bought her high and mighty act like she was some sort of god."

Pyro shrugged. "It's not like Caliban was letting one else know it was him doing all the seeking."

"No."

"You ever find out the reason why he decided to confide that little secret with you of all people?"

"Maybe it's my way with people," suggested Lorna with a small grin on her face, her hands moving up to Pyro's bare shoulders.

"You don't have a way with people, Princess. You just boss them around until they get tired of hearing you talk so they decide to do as you say just to get you to shut up."

"I got you into bed, didn't I?"

"It's been a while since I've gotten laid, and that was part of the bargain if I let you tag along for a while on missions."

"Mmm-hmm."

"And in case you haven't noticed, the Brotherhood is a little low in the female membership department. I'm desperate."

Lorna raised her own eyebrows, her face etched in a manner that clearly stated she didn't believe the pyromaniac one bit. Pyro studied her for a moment, his lips twitching in amusement. "What do you say we go back to bed for a bit, huh?"

With a chuckle Lorna took Pyro's hand to lead him back in the direction of the bed.

--

Wanda was seated in a chair in her sparsely lavished apartment when a knock came on the door. The dark haired beauty waited a moment before heading over to the wooden object and pulling it open. On the other side stood a man with blonde-white hair and a highly amused expression on his face. "Miss me?" he asked.

"It took you long enough, Pietro. Where the hell have you been?" snapped Wanda as she led her twin into the room.

Pietro shut the door behind him and made himself at home on the sofa. "Nothing much, just ran into a little problem in Oklahoma. Marko decided he wanted to grab a bite to eat."

"Is he downstairs now?"

"Catching up with Jamie as we speak, speaking of which, where's Pyro? I thought we sent the kid after him today."

"He's around. She actually managed to pull it off, which surprised the hell out of me. It's been running all over the news today. You would have thought it was our father breaking Pyro out today the way the reporters spun the tale. The damn brat moved up a few notches with some of the guys, and it's not because she's got a pretty little face. She's starting to prove her worth. She's going to be trouble, Pietro, I just know it."

"Tell me again why we haven't just kicked her out yet?"

"Two reasons, father, and the X-Men. Our father has a soft spot for Lorna whether he wants to admit it or not; and if she isn't with us she'd be with the X-Men. The only reason she's with us is because Mystique got to her before Xavier could rescue her after she ran away from home. We're stuck with her whether we like it or not, or at least until she screws up and gets herself killed," replied Wanda bitterly. It wasn't just that Lorna might actually prove herself an equal one day; it was the fact that Wanda had to share daughterhood with her. Neither of the girls had grown up with Magneto, and now here they both were vying for his attention like any daughter would with her father. To make matters worse Wanda was actually jealous of Lorna for showing up and worming her way into Magneto's heart—she had already had one perfectly good father, but like the spoiled brat she was Lorna just hadn't been satisfied with that.

Pietro sighed. "Fine, we'll get someone to keep an eye on her or something. Give her some meaningless stuff to do, that should make her bored and then she'll take off."

"And with her would go Caliban. We need him."

"Goddammit, why does this have to be so fucking difficult? I don't know what game Caliban is playing, but I don't like it one bit."

"Neither do I, but since we don't have a choice we have to continue letting Lorna pretend she's a big girl. We do have another problem however, and that is the X-Men. They were at the courthouse when Pyro was set free. They're going to be looking for us. Especially when they figure out we're all working for the same cause here. I knew they'd learn about us with the breakouts, but I forgot about that connection they have in the White House. McCoy. He's going to be a real problem with all the access he has to the old files."

"Old files?" Pietro frowned and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He could think of only one set of files that Wanda could be talking about, but he wasn't sure he really wanted to say it aloud. He had half hoped they had been lost to time itself, because if not then the trouble with the government had only just begun. "I'm guessing the government never destroyed Stryker's files, huh?"

"And get rid of the mutant goldmine? It'll be ten times easier for them to round up potential Brotherhood members if they have names and powers listed in one spot. We'll need to work fast to get our ranks back to the numbers they were before."

"Alright, so we'll start first thing tomorrow. We'll need to divide into groups and start searching out the old haunts again." Pietro sighed. "No word on father yet I take it?"

"None."

"This would be easier if we had him around."

Wanda pursed her lips together. "It would, but eventually we have to learn how to carry the Brotherhood on our own. This is a good a chance as any."

**--**

He walked with the gait of an elderly man. It was slow and hesitant, the man himself acting as though he might fall should he not be careful with his feet. One hand trailed along the railing of the sidewalk. He had never seen the purpose of it before, but that had been before he had aged overnight. Where once his face had been set with masked intelligence, now it was a mass of wrinkles and craggy lines, giving him a tired and fragile appearance. It was no longer the face of the great and almighty Magneto, one time leader of the famed Brotherhood of Mutants.

His blue eyes stared at the ground below him rather than the people passing him by. There was no use in meeting their pitiful gazes. To the world he was only another old man making his way through life. He was ashamed of what he had become, what he now had to pretend to be. Human. The very word disgusted him, but it was what he now was. He was one of them. One of the very people he despised, and all because of the X-Men. Of all the mistakes he had ever made, the greatest one was allowing Charles' group to stay in activity, an enemy of the worst sort, and traitors to their own kind.

It was time to put a stop to the X-Men once and for all, and he knew just the person to do it.

A smile curved onto his lips as he came across the payphone he had been looking for. Feebly the older man leaned his body against the booth, a single hand picking up the receiver and placing against his ear as the other hand inserted his coins and dialed a number. It rang twice.

"My dear, you don't know how good it is to hear your voice."

--

"Do you think McCoy is going to stall the release of the project?" questioned Bolivar as he and his blonde companion entered a small office. Bolivar loosened his tie as he took a seat on the leather couch. "You know how he feels about anything remotely related to mutant round-ups."

"I think you worry too much," replied the other man with a shrug as he uncorked a glass bottle of brandy and poured himself a glass.

"And you don't worry enough. Jesus Christ, Gray, we need the President's approval to get the Sentinel Project public. By being your goddamn brash self you just might have jeopardized our chances of getting that to happen."

"Bolivar, has it ever occurred to you to have a little faith in me? I'm not worried about McCoy. He's seen the same news footage we have today; he knows the return of the Brotherhood is one step away from another civil war. McCoy won't let that happen, not if my name is Graydon Creed. Besides, we have one thing on our side that McCoy doesn't."

"Oh yeah, and what's that? Faith?" demanded Bolivar bitterly.

Graydon grinned. "Randall Lightfoot, also known as the mutant Forge. McCoy isn't going to stand in our way, not while knowing a mutant helped create the Sentinels. Give him a little time and he'll agree that this is the only way to stop our mutual enemy."

"McCoy doesn't trust us, Gray. You and I both know it. I've made it no secret how I feel about mutants, and one look into your background will only bring your grassroots group to light."

"Then perhaps it is time that the Friends of Humanity became public knowledge."

"You're walking a fine line, Gray."

"And you're starting to doubt that it can be done, aren't you? Bolivar, when you worked with William Stryker you were said to be a daring man. Whatever happened to him?"

"Who, me or Stryker? Stryker was too damn confident in himself and his pet projects, all of which have gone missing by the way, including the newest one. His confidence got him killed, so you can't blame me for wanting to be a little cautious, now can you?" shot back Bolivar with a deep frown. He valued his livelihood, and the only way he could actually enjoy it was to stay alive—and he couldn't very well stay alive if he did anything half as rash as his former colleague William Stryker had done.

Chuckling, Graydon took a sip of his brandy before speaking again. "Haven't you ever heard of throwing caution to the wind? We've got the world in the palm of our hands Bolivar. Those breakouts from yesterday are ensuring our future and that of the human population. Mutants are on a one way trip to extinction—and they don't even know it. You need to trust me, for soon enough humans will have total control of the planet again."

"You had better be right about this," muttered Bolivar, his eyes narrowing as he watched Graydon sip more brandy. "Because if you're wrong it isn't just me you're bringing down with you, it's our whole damn species you'll be making fools of."

"There isn't a thing in the world that can screw this up."

"Not even a missing weapon?"

"Why don't you let me worry about that one for now? I know a guy that's familiar with some of Stryker's work—I think I can convince him to come out of retirement to do me a little favor."

"He's willing to return to the service?"

"You know who I'm talking about then?"

"There's only one man that locate anyone, anywhere."

"Then you know a missing weapon will be no big deal."

"He left the service because he didn't feel he could continue to experiment alongside Bill anymore. He claimed Bill had lost his way, that everything Bill did was a degradation to the rights of all living creatures."

"Mutants aren't human."

"They aren't animals either."

"Then that is where you and I differ, Bolivar. You can't think of these mutants as anything more than a freak of nature, to do otherwise would be turning your back on your own kind."

Bolivar ignored the barb. "He won't do it."

"I think he will."

"His beliefs on the matter are strong."

"And his duty to his country is stronger."

"You're a fool, Gray. This will only end in trouble. I know it will."

"Nicholas Fury is a soldier; he'll do what he's told to do as long as I've got the right person telling him to do it."

--

The door swung open with unusual force, causing passerby's to wince and scurry down the hall. Lorna stalked out of her bedroom, muttering under her breath as her fingers fumbled with the buttons of the top of her long sleeved shirt. Pyro followed along behind her tucking a cigarette behind his ear, dutifully ignoring the curious glances sent his way. He could only imagine the thoughts running through the minds of the Brotherhood once word of where he had spent the night was spread around. Naturally Lorna would be pissed about it and have another one of her temper tantrums, which would turn an otherwise nonchalant situation into a full blown tabloid tale. It was almost enough to make him want to confess the whole thing to Pietro and Wanda and get the jokes and glares out of the way now rather than later.

"Do you have to walk so fast?" he demanded as they reached the stairwell and began the descent to the first floor.

Lorna snorted. "We're late for the damn morning roundup. Wanda's been gathering the team together every morning at the same time to get the lowdown on our situation."

"Uh-huh, and what time is this supposed to take place?"

"Twenty minutes ago."

"Just tell them you were exercising," suggested Pyro, the ever familiar cocky grin lighting up his face.

Stopping short in her tracks Lorna turned around on the step, jabbing an accusatory finger into Pyro's chest, catching him off guard. He hadn't expected that phrase to rile her up so quickly, he had figured it would have taken a couple more before she decided to play down and dirty today. Apparently he was behind on just how short Lorna's temper had become because now she was glaring at him as though she wanted to kill him. "Why the hell do you always have to screw around, huh? We're supposed to be a little more professional considering we're supposed to be running a goddamn group of mutants on the lam, and what do you want to do? Goof off like we're still kids."

Pyro felt his eyebrow rise as the words hung there in the air. He was beginning to regret his rash decision the night before to try and work out some sort of co-partnership with the green haired teen. Pyro knew he was immature and brash, but it seemed Lorna had him defeated in those departments today. There was no way in hell they were going to make it out alive working together, not if she kept acting like the spoiled brat she was because that was only leading to a one way track for murder.

"Hey, you want to act like an adult that's fine," growled Pyro finally, reaching out to grip Lorna's elbow before she could walk away, "but remember who you're playing with, Princess. I'm being nice by letting you tag along with me, but don't think I won't burn you alive if you keep this high and mighty act of yours up, got it?"

"Oh, is that a threat, John? Because you know how I feel about those," returned Lorna coolly, her eyes focusing in on the sandy haired teen in front of her.

"Yeah, well you know how I feel about you, so why not just call it even?"

Lorna opened her mouth, more than likely intending to say something just as crude back when the sound of what seemed to be someone clearing their throat came from the top of the stairwell. Lorna and Pyro both glanced up to where a tall man with cropped black hair and dark brown eyes stood gazing down at them, obviously waiting to say something.

Pyro allowed himself to let go of Lorna, a tinge of guilt hitting him as the girl moved to rub where he had gripped her. "Need something, Avalanche?" he asked quietly.

"Depends, you two done with your lover's quarrel for the moment?"

"Fuck you, Nic," snapped Lorna. Pyro reached out to cup her elbow, yanking Lorna close to his side in order to shut her up. Taking the hint Lorna didn't struggle, but the scowl never left her face as Dominic Petros, the mutant known as Avalanche spoke again.

"I figured I'd catch you now before you got downstairs for the rest of the meeting. That girl's asking for you, Lorna."

"What girl?" questioned Pyro.

"The one I was busy tracking down while you were busy buying your trip to jail," replied Lorna with a grin. "It's about damn time too, she's been brooding for months now and half the team's afraid of her. She tried stabbing Pietro a couple of times before he got the hint she just wasn't interested."

"Where'd you find her?"

"Canada. Caliban had a few sources direct us to Alkali Lake."

"But it's flooded."

Lorna rolled her eyes, a mischievous gleam returning as she reached up to pat Pyro condescendingly on the cheek. "You're cute when you're dumb, you know that?"

"So are you going to tell me who the hell this girl is, or should I have Avalanche do the honors?"

"You're not worried about me, are you, Johnny?"

"What? Me? I just want to know what was so important about this chick that Magneto sent you on a witch hunt for her," stated Pyro with another frown, his eyebrows knitting together. It had been an odd request on Magneto's behalf to ask Lorna of all people to go and search for this missing weapon of a mutant that would be a great asset to the team, but the last few months in jail had given Pyro some time to think things over, and the one conclusion he had come up with was that Magneto had sent Lorna away in case something happened—like the damn girl getting herself injured or killed in battle. It wasn't as though Lorna was refined in the art of war making.

Lorna shrugged, a fingertip twirling a strand of green hair. "Don't know, but I think I might finally find out. You go ahead and play with Pietro and Wanda while I go and talk with the little miss I-hate-the-world-everyday." Lorna turned to move back up the steps and down the hall without so much as a second glance at Pyro who was now gaping at her back.

Opening and closing his mouth a couple of times Pyro finally settled with a dark glare directed at Dominic who was still standing there, his own eyes following every move Lorna's lithe body made. Rolling his eyes Pyro jogged up the steps and hit Dominic in the back of the head. "Follow her, you moron, and get her downstairs in one piece."

"No problem, man," murmured Dominic, a smile spreading onto his face.

"Touch her and I'll kill you." Pyro gave the other mutant a warning look before turning to descend the steps once more, muttering all the while about green hair and hormones ruining his life.

-End of Chapter Three-

**a/n – **my summer course has ended so I'm hoping I can pick this up again before my fall semester starts. thanks to all those who have waited so patiently for this chapter.


	5. Inhumane

_**Disclaimer – **_**once more, of the following only the plot is mine, Marvel owns everything else.**

**Chapter the Fourth**

**Inhumane**

The room was dark, and it remained so even after the door opened. Lorna frowned, but she knew better than to reach for the light. Instead she waited, her mind contemplating the intelligence behind coming alone – unless one counted Avalanche ambling down the hallway in her direction. A small smile flitted onto her face as she realized he had more than likely been sent by Pyro. It was childish of her to believe that Pyro cared for her – he had made it well known what he had thought of her upon their first meeting. Of course that hadn't stopped Lorna from worming her way into his life – she was rather good at that if her own father was any indication. When danger had reared its ugly head Magneto had done the overprotective thing of sending Lorna away, though she couldn't honestly say that the mission she had been sent on had been any safer than the battle on Alcatraz Island, nor that she alone had been spared that battle's fate. Both Pietro and Wanda had been sent elsewhere as well.

The green haired teen brought herself out of her reverie by clearing her throat to make the formal announcement someone was standing in the doorway. The occupant of the room was already aware of this, but since travelling stateside with Lorna it had become an unspoken agreement to act as though the other didn't have unworldly senses. Silence reigned for three more minutes before Lorna broke it with an impatient outburst.

"For Christ sakes, Laura, would it kill you to say something?" demanded the teen in an impertinent manner.

A growl cam in reply, followed by a voice that was none too pleased to be speaking. "I told you not to call me that."

"It's your name, isn't it?"

"I didn't choose it."

"No shit, but you sure as hell didn't choose X-23 either, so why should I call you that?"

"You get brattier every time we speak."

Lorna raised any eyebrow, glad it was still too dark to see. "Says the one hiding out in a bedroom all the livelong day." She waited another moment for a reply, but none came. "You wanted to see me – so what gives?"

"I'm restless."

"That's it. You called me here because you're restless? What would you like me to do about it, buy you a ball of yarn?" Oh, Lorna had a feeling her words were dangerously close to stepping on thin ice here, but that hardly mattered to her in the long run. She had spent countless hours with Caliban at her side searching the cold lake shore of Alkali for this particular mutant, and rather than be pleased by what she had found Lorna was actually rather disappointed. Magneto had been positive that X-23 would be an asset to the team, but as far as Lorna could tell X-23 was never going to work with the team. Since arriving back in the states with the highly sought after creature, X-23 had stayed hidden away in a room, never saying a word, though she had pulled out her adamantium claws more than enough times to spread the word that she was not one to be trifled with.

The fact of the matter was that Lorna knew very little about the woman in the dark room. All Caliban had been willing to share was that she was very similar to the mutant Wolverine. That much wasn't hard to see considering X-23 had the same adamantium claws in her hands … but she seemed to have a bit more claws hidden around on her body as well, something that differed with her male counterpart. Lorna herself didn't know a lot of the history behind Wolverine; no one did. As far as she could deduce Wolverine had been a government project of sorts … almost like X-23 had been. When Lorna had finally come across the woman she had been half wild with rage, her clothing nothing more than ragged remains. It had taken a great deal of concentration to stop the mutant from trying to tear Lorna and Caliban apart then and there, but she had done it and somehow or another Caliban had convinced X-23 that they were not the ones she wanted to kill. After that … well, X-23 had subsided into a quiet, dangerous sulk and traveled to New York and the Brotherhood of Mutants.

From the darkness came a flicker of light. Lorna had to shield her eyes for a moment as the curtains of the room were drawn to reveal sunlight. The moment her eyes had adjusted the green haired teen was finally able to see the woman she called Laura Kinney, her back turned on Lorna as the woman gazed out the window.

"I want to see him," stated Laura. "I want him to know that I have come searching for him."

Lorna didn't need to be a genius to know who it was that Laura was talking about. "It's likely he doesn't know of your existence. What does it matter to the Wolverine that there is another mutant like him? He took out Lady Deathstrike without a problem, and she had adamantium in her too."

"I'm different." Laura finally turned, her eyes glinting with a hint of malice in them. She was eager to be out of the room and out of the apartment building. Her time in self imposed exile to her room had finally gotten the best of her – she wanted to be free.

"If you want out you'll have to talk to Pietro and Wanda," said Lorna after a moment, her words spoken in a begrudging manner. "Seeking a fight with the X-Men isn't quite on the agenda yet … though you have every right to hunt them down." She couldn't come out and say that any form of fighting would need to stay on the backburner until the ranks of the Brotherhood were a tad bit bigger than they currently were. Loran wasn't as dumb as she appeared to those around her; when the teen actually put her mind to it she could be just as devious as the rest of her family.

Laura snorted. "I take orders from no one – so I shall follow no one's rules."

"Then why the hell bother telling me anything if you're going to go out and do whatever the hell you want?" demanded the teen sharply.

"You really are young, aren't you?" Laura shook her head with a sense of disappointment. "I'm going to help you out, kid, so listen closely. I'm going out to find him – nothing more. I want to scout out that mansion of his and see what I would be going up against in the future. To your precious siblings I'm nothing more than a scout following your orders to keep an eye on the enemy. I saw your little show on the news yesterday, you need all the help you can get if you're going to stand a chance running this circus act you guys have going here. Me, I only want Wolverine – it's his fault I even exist, but I'm going to make it look like I'm following your every word like some sort of lapdog. Do you get it?"

Pursing her lips together Lorna was silent as she studied the woman in front of her. She couldn't deny that there might be some form of logic in Laura's words, but she honestly couldn't decipher the other mutant's reasoning for them. What was she up to? "Why help me? I'm hardly worth it, even I know that."

"Caliban thinks highly of you."

"I see you've been talking to him then."

"You might take more care to listen to him when he speaks," pointed out Laura sagely. "He has great plans for you and all mutant kind."

"I don't get why."

"You aren't meant to. Play along though, pretend. It'll help you out in the end. In the meantime I'm going to go play the guise of your faithful scout. I'll check in with you in the next day or two. Don't get yourself killed in the meantime. You might have powers of a god, but you don't have a fucking clue how to use them correctly." A wry smile of sorts on her lips was all Lorna was able to see before Laura crossed the room and out the door, leaving the teen to stand in silent wonder. Everyone but her seemed to have some sort of an idea what was going on here, and she was getting rather tired of being in the dark.

Lorna turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, her face set with determination as she brushed past Nic. She was going to find her answers with the very source that seemed to be setting up her life. Upon reaching the stairs Lorna took the ones leading up, her feet moving quickly as she heard Nic ambling along behind her. She had half a mind to tell him to buzz off, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to let him follow Pyro's orders to the very core. What harm could it possibly come to other than annoying her that she couldn't wander around the damn apartment building without some sort of bodyguard-slash-spy?

On the next floor Lorna moved down the hallway and over to one door in particular, throwing it open rather than waiting around to knock. The teen girl moved into the open area of the apartment, her eyes narrowing at the sight of two mutants sitting there calmly, their eyes on her as though she had been expected.

The male mutant was Caliban, his pale form clearly visible without the hood over his gaunt-like face. There was only the merest hint of hair atop his head, all a wispy blonde-white color that made his blue eyes stand out against his pallid features. Beside him sat a woman with red hair cut to her chin, a pair of black sunglasses over her eyes and a walking cane at the ready in her right hand.

"Running doesn't become you, child," murmured the woman in sunglasses.

"I should have known you'd be here," muttered Lorna darkly. "Whenever things begin to change you're always there."

"You come seeking answers."

Lorna scowled. She was being treated like a child, spoken to in a condescending manner – something she barely tolerated from her father and siblings, but with the mutant woman in front of her the teen knew she would have to bit her tongue and let it slide. It wasn't as though she had much of a choice at this point in time. "It wouldn't kill you two to let me in on some of these plans. Laura just told me she's going off to scout for me. What is it I'm having her scout out?"

Caliban turned his gaze away from Lorna, his eyes going to Nic in the doorway of the apartment, though the pale mutant didn't seem to be giving the maker of avalanches much heed either. His eyes were seeing something else in the distance … or possibly his mind was elsewhere sensing endless possibilities of mutants for the recruiting. Lorna hadn't quite figured out what the deal behind Caliban was yet, but whatever it was she was pretty damn sure the man had a plan, and one that included using her. She had been rather honored by his sticking to her side as though she were the only one worthy of his words, but within a month Lorna had come to the conclusion there might be more going on, that she might be nothing more than a pawn in his hand, and that of the woman known as Destiny beside him. All Lorna needed, or even wanted, was a small sign that she was not a pawn, but very much worthy of such attention from so talented a mutant.

After a moment Caliban spoke. "There is someone we must find."

"Isn't there always?" shot back Lorna acerbically.

"This mutant is quite powerful and will be of great use for you. You want to prove you are worthy to be a Lensherr, do you not?"

Lorna was silent, her eyes studying the two mutants before her. Whether or not she was nothing more than a pawn she couldn't help but feel she needed to listen to them if she were to ever prove what she felt she knew: that she was not weak. "Where will I find this mutant?"

"They will find you."

"And yet that doesn't make me feel any better."

Destiny spoke. "Have faith, child. The future will be yours before you know it."

"How do I know you aren't just using me for some sick plan of your own?"

"You don't."

Her lips twitched as though Lorna might burst from the inner turmoil within. She disliked this cryptic tone; the teen did better when she knew what was going on in the world she occupied, and this hardly constituted knowing anything at all. "You're really starting to piss me off."

"Know this, there is something coming that will change the tides of fate, including your own."

"And what exactly does that mean for me?"

"Given some time you can lead a great army of mutants and change the world for the better."

Rolling her eyes Lorna said, "Oh joy, my life is finally complete knowing this piece of information."

"What is done can be undone. What is gone is not always gone." This time it was Caliban that spoke, and three sets of eyes turned to peer at him. He locked eyes with Nic who shifted his feet, uncomfortable under the albino's gaze. "Do not underestimate yourselves. You have the potential. You all have the potential."

What potential that was, was left unsaid.

--

Downstairs Pyro was standing beside a window, his eyes trained on Pietro as the taller mutant paced back and forth in front of him. The fiery teen had just mentioned that he wanted Lorna to work with him in order to keep an eye on her, as well as keep Caliban from up and leaving the Brotherhood. It had already happened once before directly after the battle on Alcatraz Island; Caliban had vanished before showing up again at the damn hearing the day before. Pyro had been rather surprised to see him there, though Lorna had looked unconcerned about it. He had a feeling the girl kept some form of communication open with the seeker that no one yet knew about. It was almost disheartening.

"I don't like it; it's giving the kid more responsibility than I feel comfortable giving her," stated Pietro.

"Responsibility?" scoffed Pyro. "All you're doing is letting her tag along with me as I scout out some of the old hangouts some of the guys used to hideout in. That's not responsibility, that's just a mission."

"To Lorna it might be seen differently," pointed out Wanda.

"Oh come on, she's eighteen, not ten – the girl does have a brain sometimes. She might surprise you if you guys give her a chance."

"It sounds to me like you might be giving her more chances than anyone else here. Don't think we didn't hear where you stayed the night, Pyro. The walls aren't very thin here, and rumors fly pretty quickly when it has to do with a certain green haired girl." Pietro paused in his pacing to stare at Pyro, receiving the merest of shrugs in return.

"I'm still a guy, Speedy, just the same as anyone else. It isn't my fault you guys aren't recruiting very many pretty faces to fool around with on our off hours."

"Leave him be, Pietro," advised Wanda after a moment. "It's hardly worth fighting over. If he wants to play around with Lorna he can. What we should really be talking about is the future of the Brotherhood. Magneto hasn't been heard from in months now; the old gang from Alcatraz is back … more or less. We have Jamie and Sabertooth, and for some of our members that's a good sign. We're showing that we're returning to the root of our cause again. Now it's all a matter of what to do next. We need to recruit, yes, but after that … we need to start digging into the government again and see what they're up to. I don't like the silence we're getting from them outside the press release that escaped mutant terrorists will be caught and punished according to the law."

Pietro nodded. "We need to get some eyes into the government then."

"It's a shame we don't have Mystique around." Pyro's voice carried a bit of a wistful sentiment about it as the Maximoff twins allowed the words to settle in their heads.

"She's vanished as well," replied Wanda after a moment. "And she's human. It's a bit of a waste to wish for what we don't have."

"What I'm saying is it might be nice to have Caliban start seeking another shape shifter." Pyro moved away from the window, his arms in front of his chest. "They're always useful, and if we want eyes in the government that's the only way we're going to get it. In case you guys haven't noticed, our ranks have only ever been filled with people on the edge of the law – we don't have any respectable members of society hiding who they are so they can blend in with humans. That was the X-Men's job, not ours. We've only ever been about keeping the world aware of us."

"Well since you're so cozy with our sister, why don't you ask her to get Caliban working on that little mission?" snapped back Pietro.

"Maybe because she'd only tell you to go screw yourself." Lorna's voice was disdainful as she entered the apartment, her eyes narrowing at the sight of her older brother standing in front of Pyro as though he were looking for a bit of a fight.

"Our meeting started quite a while ago, Lorna. Where the hell have you been?" questioned Wanda.

"Here and there, though I was mostly asking X-23 to go scout out the X-Men for us to see what they've got going on. I figure McCoy's been in touch with them, so it might just be easier to keep an eye on the government via the X-Men … if that's what you were trying to do, figure out what the government has planned, otherwise you're obviously not trying hard enough."

Wanda tapped her cheek thoughtfully, her face void of emotion before speaking again. "I suppose that will do for now. I wish you would have talked this over with us before letting X-23 go out on her own. She's too damn wild for my liking."

"This is exactly why she's not under your orders, Wanda. I wouldn't worry about her though. X-23 is a weapon, isn't that right, Nicky? She knows what she's doing." Lorna glanced back at the doorway where Nic ambled through, an unsettled look upon his face.

"She's fucking crazy," he stated.

"I can't argue there – she tried goring me three different times in the same night. I wouldn't recommend hitting on her while drunk. Did you find the others for the meeting too?" asked Pietro.

"Jamie said something about needing to stock up at the bank and a few other places today. I think he's planning on a nine-way robbery at the same time just to get back into the thick of things. Cain refused to wake up, and there's no way in hell I'm asking Sabertooth to show up here. That guy's worse than X-23. He'll kill for no reason at all."

Sighing, Wanda said, "I suppose we shouldn't be surprised. Everyone here with the exception of Lorna is independent."

"Fuck you." Lorna scowled and probably would have said more if Pyro hadn't silenced her with a dark look and shake of his head.

"So long as Jamie doesn't get himself arrested again it's not a big deal. Sending either Juggernaut or Sabertooth out to recruit isn't exactly subtle – they stick out like store thumbs," murmured the male teen.

"At this point we all stick out like sore thumbs," agreed Wanda. "None of us were very subtle yesterday, and as you already said, the half of us comes with criminal records already known to the police. Being unobtrusive is our best bet for a few days while we get the word out about our regrouping. We don't want to get the authorities _too _excited over our return; otherwise we'll simply be running from one hideout to another."

Pietro nodded. "We'll have to send those mutants out that can pass for humans. Avalanche can go with Berzerker; Boom-Boom and Wither; Mimic and Tarot –" He cut himself short, his gaze going towards his twin. "We shouldn't send too many out, especially those that might cause a ruckus downtown."

Lorna tapped her chin thoughtfully, her eyes focused out the window she had gone to stand by as her siblings began to murmur in low voices about who they trusted to recruit new members. She barely noticed as Pyro came to stand beside her, his own eyes trained on the slightly troubled form of Avalanche.

"You want to tell me what's got our one man natural disaster down? He was fine when I sent him after you."

"You really shouldn't have done that, Py. I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."

"Don't make me laugh, Princess."

"Nicky is fine. He's just got some adjusting to do."

"Spill it, kid."

Turning to face the pyromaniac, Lorna gave him a patronizing smile. "You wouldn't begin to understand the half of what I know, Johnny. What you should really concern yourself with is the fact that I have a lead on a new mutant."

Pyro scoffed. "Is that your answer to everything? I heard you got some recruits while I was in jail, all thanks to Caliban of course."

"Mmm."

A moment of silence between the pair passed. Pyro gave a quick glance in the direction of the Maximoff's, one of which was giving him a dark look though Wanda was making a point not to say anything aloud, her attention still half focused on her brother who was speaking a mile a minute. "Are you going to keep this piece of information all to yourself, or are you going to share?"

With a smirk Lorna moved forward, her words spoken loud enough for all to hear. "I hear tell father isn't the only mutant leader with a bastard child gifted as he."

At this both Wanda and Pietro focused their attention on Lorna, a glimmer of recognition in their eyes at her words. Pietro spoke first. "That's impossible."

"You know it isn't," replied Lorna shortly.

"And how would you like to go about suggesting we recruit him? Even father wouldn't dare touch him."

"That's because father didn't know what I know."

"And what exactly do you know, Lorna?"

"Death is only the beginning."

--

Her eyes observed the world around her. Somehow it had become different, strange. In the past the world had seemed nothing more than a mere annoyance, background noise of sorts. Now, however, it was as though she were looking at the world around her for the very first time.

And now she was seeing things exactly for what they were.

Change was not permanent. It never had been and it never would be.

She flicked her eyes upwards as a man walked past her, her body stiffening on the bench she was seated on. It was almost natural to do so; she only trusted those in which she had shared a part of her past. Strangers had been second nature once before, but now she wanted as little to do with them as possible. It was understandable, but at the same time it was unacceptable. That seemed to be a cross she would bear for all time, the ultimate form of a contradiction. Perhaps that would be the one thing that would never change.

Another person passed before her and she merely crossed her right leg over that of her left. Now that she had time to think things over she had come to the conclusion that could she go back and do things again she wouldn't change a single factor of her life. All that she had done had been done for a particular reason, no more and no less. She had been a servant in both forms and now she was seemingly free of all that she had been asked to do. Yet without those orders, those pleas, she was restless and unable to find contentment with her life.

She missed the days of yore.

Now came a third person, this one taking a seat beside her. She sighed, her eyes going out across the park she had come to know so well in the past few weeks. Only after two days had she come to understand the pattern that the park seemed to live by; only after three did she realize that there was only one thing left for her to do, and so here she sat, waiting.

A throat cleared. Then there was silence. Minutes passed, and then there were words. "The time is now."

"Hasn't it always been?"

"Then you know what you must do?"

"I've never asked questions in the past, and now you think I have doubts? I said I would do it. I always keep my word."

"I'm afraid that tells me very little."

"Then I'm afraid you'll just have to live like that."

From the west came a soft breeze, picking up the silence that seemed ready to settle. Then, "We know you will do the right thing."

"Naturally."

In the distance a dog barked, and then she stood up, her eyes gazing down at her companion with a hooded look about them. "I'll be in touch."

"Of course. It's been nice doing business with you, Ms. Darkholme."

"I wish the same could be said for you, Mr. Shaw."

--

"And this is the kitchen. Generally you can just open the fridge whenever you want and eat something if you're hungry, even at three in the morning. Just be careful that Logan doesn't catch you – he's gotten pickier about when people decide to sleepwalk. I'm not sure why since he's a bad example for being up at all hours night and day, but if he catches you out just start bawling and you'll get a freebie." Kitty offered a lopsided grin as she spoke, her words startling the fair skinned boy beside her.

"Really, you can do that here? At the lab we had scheduled hours for eating." James Baker, normally known as Jimmy, glanced up at Kitty with a bit of confusion in his eyes. It was all so new to him being at the mansion. Today wasn't his first day, but it was the first time someone had finally taken time out of their own day to give him an actual tour of the mansion. For the past few months the boy had been spending quite a bit of time following his roommate downstairs whenever a bell sounded in hopes that he was going in the right direction.

"Well, we have designated hours too I suppose, but since there seems to be so many of us wandering around at the same time it's been easier to just eat whenever you feel like it, and when there doesn't seem to be an actual food fight going on in the cafeteria. Not that very many of those happen." Seeing the look upon Jimmy's face had caused the petite female to hurry onwards so as to reassure him that they weren't really as wild as she was likely making the students of the mansion out to be.

Truth be told this was the first time Kitty had actually ever given someone else a tour of the mansion. Usually someone else did that, someone with a little more people skills under their belt. On her first day at the mansion Kitty had been led around by Piotr and Bobby with John roaming around the in the background. It had been slightly overwhelming as the teen could be shy on first impression. After she had gotten used to the mansion she had been offered the chance to show others around but Kitty had never been quite brave enough to take up the feat. Her homesickness had been more than enough to tell her she really wasn't the best person to welcome semi-permanent residents to the mansion. Instead the job had been doled out to others. Bobby had given Marie the tour when Marie had arrived; Piotr had shown Warren around; Marie had shown Paige and Danielle around; Logan had shown Remy around; and Storm generally showed around parents of students that supported their child.

Somehow or another Jimmy's first day had been something like chaos for the younger boy hadn't quite been shown around properly until now. Kitty had only discovered this upon coming across her little friend standing in the middle of the hall with a slightly confused look on his face. As soon as she had coaxed it out of him that he hadn't figured out where everything was Kitty had decided to give Jimmy the grand tour. She was rather proud of herself about it too.

"So what do you think?" she asked.

"I think I finally figured out where the library was," admitted Jimmy with a small grin of his own. "Thanks."

"It's not a big deal. I feel bad no one gave you this tour before now. Bobby does it better than I do, and Rogue usually gives a really neat story along with each room."

"I thought you did a good job."

Kitty merely shrugged, not used to taking compliments even from friends. "I know the place can be pretty intimidating at times. I was pretty freaked out when I first got here too. It took ages to figure out where everything was."

"It _is_ big," agreed Jimmy. "But I do like it here, a lot better than Worthington Labs."

"I bet. All that white couldn't really have been good for you."

"I guess not."

Allowing herself a small chuckle Kitty reached out and ruffled the light brown hair that had finally begun to grow atop Jimmy's head. Since his arrival the boy had learned to loosen up, as well as begun to look a bit healthier. He wasn't as pale as he was in the past, and hair had finally begun to grow where once it had been bald. It made the teen girl feel better about all that had transpired on Alcatraz Island. Since then she had felt more like a real member of the team, and a member of the family at the mansion.

The duo glanced up as the door to the kitchen swung open and Remy stepped inside, a strained look on his face. "Mon dieu," he said upon seeing them, "be prepared for some fireworks."

"Is Jubilee putting on another show?" asked Jimmy with a bright look on his face.

"Not quite."

Almost as though on cue the door opened yet again and Marie walked into the room with Bobby hot on her heels, neither one looking as though they were in a good mood. Bobby seemed to be the one speaking at the moment. "I don't know why you didn't talk to me about it first, Marie! Applying to college in California is a big deal!"

"I already told you I wanted to go there, Bobby. I want to see other things than this side of the country – I've always thought California would be nice. Stanford is a good college!"

"_But it's on the other side of the country!_"

Marie stopped short on her heels, whirling around to face her boyfriend. "All I did was _apply;_ it's entirely possible they might not accept me. Nothing's written in stone yet. Bobby, I can't spend my entire life at the mansion. In case you've forgotten, I'm cured. This isn't my home anymore!"

The words echoed in the kitchen, causing silence to reign. Kitty shifted feet uncomfortably as Jimmy scooted against the counter. The only one seemingly unperturbed was Remy who was now peeling a banana as though he might actually be hungry. Bobby and Marie continued to eye one another apprehensively until Bobby looked away. Hurt flashed across Marie's face as she recognized the look of defeat upon her boyfriend's face.

"Fine," he said. "Do what you want." He turned around, not bothering to eye the rest of the group as he exited the kitchen. Kitty glanced over Marie with wide eyes in time to see the other girl frozen to her spot, tears forming in her eyes. Anyone could see the relationship was growing worse rather than better. It had been slowly doing so ever since Marie had returned from getting the cure all those months ago. Unsure whether she should try and be a friend to Marie and offer a shoulder to cry on or something, Kitty was saved from having to make a further decision by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Her eyes followed Jimmy as the younger boy skirted out of the kitchen while Remy let out a sigh and followed him out, leaving Kitty and Marie alone.

There was silence for a while before Marie spoke. "You probably think I'm a horrible person."

"Huh?" Kitty turned to the southern girl quizzically. "Oh, no. No, I don't. I think ... I … I don't really know what to think to tell you the truth. I didn't know very many people in relationships back in my old high school, so I don't really know how they work."

"Neither do I," murmured Marie. "Everything was supposed to get better, easier even. But it's all just gone so wrong. He blames himself for it you know, my getting the cure. He doesn't want to see that I'm happier now, that this has always been what I've wanted. I didn't ask to have powers. I didn't ask to have my world turned upside like it was. I only wanted to fit in with everyone else at school. I had plans back then, of traveling the world, falling in love, going to college; getting married … they all vanished in the blink of an eye – with a single kiss. And now … now I might finally have a chance to get all that back, but now … it's all just a mess."

Kitty found herself taken aback by Marie's candor. She knew so little about the other brunette in front of her other than what she had heard. Even the white streak in her hair was nothing more than a story the younger teen had heard from others at the mansion; before now Kitty had barely spoken more than two words to Marie, something she hadn't wanted to do after the time she had gone ice skating with Bobby. "I …"

"I can't do this anymore. I can't." The words didn't seem particularly directed towards Kitty, though Marie did speak them aloud. "I can't," she whispered one last time, her head shaking no of its own accord. Before Kitty could think of something to say, Marie too was gone, the kitchen door swinging closed as the other girl walked back through them.

Letting out a breath, Kitty groaned. "Oh, Bobby."

--

"Are those all the leads the police have?" questioned Ororo as she rubbed her temples wearily. Any hope she had once had of getting some relief in the matters of the breakouts seemed dimmer than ever now. Sitting on the couch before her was an officer of the New York Police Department.

Lucas Bishop nodded his head, his eyes glancing between Ororo and Logan who sat on the edge of the desk listening to all that had been taking place. For the former X-Man it was difficult to return to the mansion to find his former classmate now in charge of the school they had both attended. The loss of Charles Xavier was still being felt by all that had known the man, and it likely wouldn't change for time to come. "We've asked questions and those are the only answers we've gotten. We've spoken to the adoptive parents and ex-boyfriend, and they all say the same thing."

"How do we know these people can be trusted?" demanded Logan.

"The Danes are good people. The adoption is as legal as they come, or was. There are no records of the birth mother, other than that she was a pretty woman that dropped Lorna off at the orphanage when she was barely a year old. From then on Lorna was supposedly raised to be the perfect daughter, but you know how the rich are – spoiled, manipulative, and selfish. It's a bad combination for the girl, especially when she claims to be linked to the Lensherr name. The ex-boyfriend says the same thing. Lorna dated Alexander Masters for close to three years before he claims she snapped, her powers coming out into the open."

"And it's true she killed someone?" Ororo turned in a slow circle, her hand rubbing the back of her neck.

"So it seems. The reports put it down as an accident, but you know the papers will spin it otherwise. She's got all the cards stacked against her at this moment, and all because she made the slip and gave her name to another person," replied Lucas with a shrug of his shoulders.

Logan shook his head. "It wasn't a slip. She did it on purpose. She wants us to know who she is."

"To what purpose, Logan?" Ororo extended her hands to emphasize her point. "Even without the name the powers would have been something of a dead giveaway."

"She's the only name we've got, 'Ro. Those others didn't give a name, which means they aren't as important as this pipsqueak with the green hair."

"Or it means the others are more important and Lorna is only the poster child for the new Brotherhood," pointed out Lucas sagely.

"Either way doesn't bode well for us," muttered Ororo after a moment. "The papers are going to spin it just as you say, Luke. Lorna and Pyro are making front page news everywhere. They're the new face of the Brotherhood, and for better or for worse the media's got them pinned as a duo to be reckoned with."

Snorting, Logan got up from his seat and made his way over to the window, his own senses on edge. He crossed his arms, his mind ignoring whatever it was that Lucas was saying in turn to soothe Ororo. The Canadian wasn't of the belief that things would be getting better. There was a reason the Brotherhood had waited until now to strike, and whatever that reason was Logan was fairly sure it meant trouble was on the horizon. He hadn't believed along with the rest of his teammates that things would calm down after Alcatraz Island. It hadn't felt right, and for as long as Logan could remember his senses had never been wrong.

Yet it was more than that this time around. There was something else that bothered Logan, something out there that was making him restless. He had been that way since Alkali Lake when he had left Colonel William Stryker behind to die in the collapse of the dam. It was like a memory had been triggered with the man's words, though which ones they had been he hadn't been able to remember until now.

As he gazed out the window, his eyes searching for whatever it was that he felt watching him, it came to him, but it did very little to ease his mind. If anything it made him more anxious for whatever was to come and it was for this that he began to murmur under his breath.

Ororo eyed her friend and teammate carefully as she repeated his name a third time. "Logan?"

"I'm not the only one," he repeated once more. "I'm not the only one."

**-End Chapter the Fourth-**

**A/N – **apology for the long space between updates; last semester kicked my butt and I'm currently studying abroad, so it's been rather hard finding time to write something that wasn't in Spanish.


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